Do Not Cross
by influenceONchildren
Summary: AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.
1. Echoes

**So, for those of you who remember, this story was originally released in 2010. Sometime after, all of my works fell into hiatus mode as I had no time to really work on them. Now, three years later, I want to jumpstart this story.**

**This was a lengthy process that took a few days, seeing as how my classes officially began yesterday, 14 January 2013. I am taking three classes this semester (Intro. to Shakespeare, Editing/Production, and Intermediate Algebra). With my Shakespeare class, it's mostly reading from the books and taking the quizzes. Editing/Production is another fairly easy one. Algebra… not so much. My school is using a new program and I am unfortunately stuck in it, if I want to graduate before my sister starts attending in the fall. I am **_**ridiculously**_** close to receiving my Associates degree that I am very willing to put up with this utter nonsense. Anyway, mathematics have never been my strong suit (I barely passed my Geometry course last semester) so I'm fairly behind on everything. **

**Well my initial readers will remember **_**most**_** of these facts, very few things have changed from the original context. Minor details, the first conversation Sam has with her grandmother in this chapter, the partial introduction of Reapers, and a few other miniscule things were altered. **

**Some people are probably wondering why I'm doing all of this in the first place, going back and reworking a story. It's for my own piece of mind. There are some things I cannot remember from my lost notes (hidden in the depths of my room), so I had to change a few things. The flow at parts wasn't perfect and I spotted some errors when I was going over it. That, and I've done a lot more research on some things.**

**For my new readers, I welcome you. I may seem quite peculiar in many fashions, being in my early twenties and all that jazz. But I love writing and this idea is one of my favorites that I've ever had. It's so… **_**unique**_** for this section at FF and I was utterly compelled to write it. If I didn't write it, the little plot bunny would have beaten the living daylight out of me.**

**So without much further ado, I welcome you all to **_**Do Not Cross**_**, an interesting tale of a girl who can not only see ghosts but fight them as well and the things she encountered while living in Amity Park.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**by iOc**

**Chapter 1**

**Echoes**

"_**Of all human opinions that is to be reputed the most foolish which deals with the belief in Necromancy, the sister of Alchemy, which gives birth to simple and natural things." Leonardo da Vinci.**_

With a skilled flick of her wrist, Samantha Marie Manson, better known as Sam, tied her hair up with an elastic band. It was something that every female could do quite simply and over the past few years she had become a master at the task.

She was readying herself for the feat ahead. It was as easy to her as keeping her shoulder length hair from her heart-shaped face, although she rather detested it and found that this part of her life was rather maddening.

Again, she looked around to check to make sure what she wouldn't be caught. What Samantha was doing wasn't something that was exactly legal. In any country. _Especially_ at night when no one was around.

She was in the clear. Until her cellphone started crooning its set ringtone.

"_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, Fire away, fire way. Ricochet, you take your aim, Fire away, fire away. You shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am titanium—_"

She winced and quickly answered. She kept her voice hushed, squatting down against the fence. Anyone patrolling the area would be less likely to see her in that position than if she remained standing.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Sam? Good, you picked up." It was her bubeleh, her grandmother. Why was she calling? "I was worried. Where did you go?"

"I'm patrolling. A warehouse has been giving me a weird vibe lately. I had to check it out. I'll try to be back in an hour. Hopefully less. Do you think you can cover for me?"

"For a short time, yes. It _is_ your mother's birthday. Just remember to not get caught and _to be careful_."

"Don't worry, bubeleh, you know nothing can really hurt me. I'm tough as they come."

"Still, be on the lookout for any Reapers. Rumor has it they've been spotted in the city by Charles and his brood. He almost lost his grandson last week."

"I'll be extra careful. Besides, I can handle a Reaper. I've fought one before, remember?"

"Sam." Her voice was laced with worry. Sam let out a sigh and nodded.

"Alright, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a wooden stake in my eye."

"Thank you. But that is a poor word choice."

"Whatever. I have my duty to do. I'll call you when I'm done?"

"Please do. Bye, I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

The line beeped and then went dead.

Sam glanced at her phone before shoving it into one of her jean pockets. She had work that needed to get done. She stood up, and straightened her gloves and her hair, preparing to climb up the chain-link fencing surrounding an abandoned warehouse. She skillfully mastered the barrier and landed on her toes, rolling back to her heels. She checked behind her before sprinting to the building.

She headed straight for the door and only to find that it was locked.

"Great." she muttered to the open air, glancing around with an irritated look. She found a forsaken crowbar that was starting to rust over. "Looks like you have one more job to do, my trusty friend."

She broke the small glass panel above the doorknob, the glass shattering on impact and splintering on the cement ground inside. Maneuvering her arm so she wouldn't scrape herself, she unlocked the door to let herself in.

Her heavy combat boot crunched whatever pieces of glass hadn't already broken. She listened intently for any other sounds. Her knuckles under her gloves were white as she gripped the crowbar. She breathed quietly through her nose, lips pursed and brow furrowed.

There!

Off to the left and in the shadows.

_Great,_ she thought. _Way to be cliché there, pal. Hiding in the shadows, like some creeper that lives down the street from me. Not that that's not what you are._

The air around her grew thick and sweet, heavy with a cool humidity. She found herself taking deeper breaths due to this simple factor. Goose flesh puckered up on her skin beneath the flannel jacket she had gotten earlier that month at a thrift store. She wore it despite the summer heat.

"Alright, come out." she said to the being cloaked by rather menacing looking shadows. She cocked all of her weight onto one leg and on to the crowbar, her one hand draped casually over the small hook of the metal rod; the other rested in the nook of her slight dip of her natural waist. "I have no times for games. I also don't want to be grounded. So why not make this easier on the both of us?"

"You have no right to be here." hissed a voice from over her shoulder.

Quick as lightening, she whipped the crowbar behind her into what she hoped what was the being's stomach. She heard a groaning 'oof,' which satisfied her.

She walked over to the transparent bipedal being, who was rubbing its head. She dipped the crowbar under its chin, cocking her head off to the side as she watched the confused and angered look in its glowing eyes grow.

"Give up? Please?" she asked politely. "I can make your eternity much more pleasant if you do."

The being howled in rage, throwing itself off the ground and tackling her. The crowbar was knocked from her hands and her breaths were beat from her lungs. She gasped for air like a fish out of water, grasping for the just-out-of-reach metal rod.

The being snatched it up just as her fingers brushed it. It raised it up over its head, posing for a strike.

Sam just had time to dodge the crowbar as it cracked upon the cement ground, leaving a small cavity where her head had once been. She gaped at it, knowing that if she would be hit, it was game over.

They repeated this process of it raising the rod above his head and her just barely getting out of the way. It wasn't long before this got too repetitive for the girl and she changed things up.

She stopped the crowbar with the sole of her boots, yanking it out of the being's grasp and tossing it off into oblivion to clatter on the ground and break something.

She spun on her toe, lashing out at the last second to send a powerful blow to the being's side. Her fists were quick to follow with rapid punches on the bipedal's upper torso and head, skin stinging with pain from the biting cold that its body was made of.

She was able to back it up into a circle she had made earlier that day out of pig's blood. Her well trained mind clicked things into position. Everything was perfect.

"As Necromancer of this city, I, Samantha Marie Manson, banish thee into the eternal depths of Hell where you will _not_ receive fair trial for your actions." she quickly recited the words she had said thousands of times before this night.

A wail reverberated off the walls as a wind picked up seemingly from nowhere. Thunder boomed as a blinding light ripped open a hole to a grim looking place in the ground. A hand made out of a dark smoky substance reached out and grabbed the being within the circle.

She watched silently, expressionless. This was standard treatment, after all. There was nothing new to get excited about.

The hand pulled the being into the hole and they were gone within seconds of being there.

Sam turned around, ready to leave, and cursed. Apparently whatever the crowbar hit was flammable and was spreading at a good pace.

Her eyes darted around the room for an exit. There was a back door. She groaned when she realized that it was bolted shut. There were no knobs.

"How convenient." she growled. "Only one way to do this."

She kicked the deadbolt with as much force as she could. The door slammed open, allowing her to escape into free air. She thanked whatever powerful deity was looking out for her that she had been blessed with her great strength.

Already sirens were crying and heading her way. The flashing red and blue lights sped down the buildings.

"Hey, you okay?" someone asked.

She turned and saw two men in police uniforms trotting over to her.

"Sam?" one of the men asked incredulously. His face went from shock to exasperation. "Should have known you were behind this. You're _always_ behind these things."

"I didn't do it!" she squeaked. It wasn't really a lie. True she had flung the crowbar, but damn it, she was fighting for her life – _and_ their lives! Who knew what could have happened had she allowed the being to continue to reside there. She didn't have a chance to look at every freaking thing before she started the battle. Now, though, was the time to lie straight through her teeth.

"I went in there when I saw flames. I thought I could try and put them out, but I bumped into something and it broke. Things got out of control after that."

The policeman raised a brow, hardly believing the story. This girl was known throughout the police force for being brought home or into the station almost every night for something she did or didn't claim to do.

"And what were you doing over here?" he asked.

"Uh, that's classified information?"

He shot her an annoyed look.

"Fine, I was scouting a new hang out. Geeze."

The firemen arrived, already moving to put out the blaze that was overtaking the weakened structure. They worked quickly.

"In the back?" she asked blandly.

"You know the drill."

"I just hope I won't be grounded." she said, sliding in.

"Fat chance." the officer told her, closing the door behind her.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"Hello, Pamela, Jeremy." Officer Donald Clark greeted the two annoyed parents. "Sam's in back."

"Hello, Donald." Pamela Manson sighed. She shook her head. "How's Betty and the girls?"

"They're fine. Nickie's got a part in the school play."

"I wish Sammy would audition for a school play. She's _so_ good at acting. And quite dramatic, too." There was a hint of acid in her voice. Her daughter was indeed quite good at acting. She has seemingly gotten good at it in middle school and had nearly perfected it by now.

"Now, now, dear," Jeremy soothed. "I'm sure Sam has a good reason."

"She claims that she was out scouting for a new place to hang out." Donald said, opening the door to the room Samantha was chatting with one of the officers who was fresh out of the academy. "She just _happened_ to be near the fire—"

"A fire!" Pamela screeched.

"—at a warehouse. She was attempting to put it out but it got out of control. That right, Sam?"

"You are correct, Don." Sam beamed. "Hey, tell Nickie congrats for me, will you? Bye, Greg. I hope everything goes great with your girlfriend. Hi, mom. Hey, dad."

"Samantha Marie!" he mother scolded. "_What_, pray tell you, were you doing out? Your father and I bid you goodnight not two hours ago. _Two_ hours, Sammy! And on my _birthday_!"

"I'm sorry I was being a good citizen for once?"

"Sam!"

"Look, if I hadn't been there it could have been worse." the girl tried to soothe her raging mother.

"She's right." Officer Donald told the woman. "If Sam hadn't knock over the gasoline, the glass tanks would have exploded. Other warehouses nearby could have been caught in the whole mess."

"Wait, why was there gas in glass tanks?" Sam asked, baffled by the strangeness.

"A gang apparently was looking to blow up a few places. We've been after them for a while." He turned to Pamela. "Sam's completely innocent in this case. Although, I have a feeling she'll get worse than a scolding and a slap on the wrist."

"Darn straight." Jeremy said, grabbing his daughter's wrist.

"But I'm innocent!" she wailed pitifully as she was dragged away, the heavy door slamming with a loud _clang_ behind her.

"You'll find that she keeps things interesting around here, Greg." Donald told the young officer, chuckling to himself. Oh, yes, Samantha Manson definitely kept them, guessing.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"This isn't fair." Sam huffed, throwing herself on her bed, muffling her voice with a bat-shaped pillow. She dropped her flannel jacket on the floor beside her bed. Her boots she had to work off her feet, but they both eventually clunked down next to her coat, ridiculous flailing aside.

"What did you do this time?" an elderly voice asked.

She looked up to see her grandmother riding on the quiet motor scooter that she had gotten two years ago for her birthday from her only granddaughter.

"I snuck out to do the city some civil service, you know to make up for the fact that I blew up the gym. But no~o! Mom and dad had to ground me for the sneaking out part. I can't be a hero at this rate if they keep pulling me back from destiny."

"The ghost was that bad?"

"Yep. I kind of wish I could tell mom and dad. I mean, maybe then they'd cut me some slack if they realized I was helping lost souls find their place in life. Well, afterlife."

"Unfortunately the Necromancer gene skips a generation." the old woman sighed, smiling lightly. "I'll tell you what, I'll convince them to ease the punishment a little, say, oh, by thirty years or so."

"Thanks, bubeleh." Sam said, hugging her grandmother gratefully. "You're the greatest."

"So, tell me, was this that ghost that kept torturing humans?"

"Uh-huh. I got him good. Sent him to where he belongs."

"That's good. Oh, by the way, your mother wants to talk to you in the morning."

Samantha blinked. What on earth did she have to tell her that she already hadn't before?

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Sam nibbled on the organic, low calorie cookies her mother set in front of her. They seemed to be the only thing the both of them liked.

"Sammy, I know this seems kind of sudden and whatnot, but your father and I have been planning this for months now. You were always off doing… whatever it is you do in your free time, which is something I want to talk to you about at some point, by the way. We never really got the chance to tell you." Pamela said, fixing her 1950's styled dress as she sat nervously perched in her chair.

"Well?" Sam asked, mid-nibble.

"Um, oh, dear, how do I say this? Sammy, dear, we'll be going to Amity Park, a quaint town."

"So?"

"All of us. We're all going to Amity Park, dear."

"Uh-huh." Samantha said slowly, not quite sure where her mother was going with this. She set her cookie back on the plate, mostly to see how serious her mother was at that moment. When the woman gauged no reaction to the half-eaten treat, she knew that this was something big.

"They have a nice school system. You'd be able to start off fresh. A clean slate! Wouldn't like that, Sammy?"

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"We got a nice house out there. It's big. Your room will be twice the size of the one you have here. We also have a private film theater and bowling alley. Won't that be nice, dear, to not have to go out to go bowling?"

"Mom, what the _hell_ are you talking about? School system? Big room? _Bowling alley_?"

"Sammy, darling dearest, light of my eye… sweetie… We're moving to Amity Park." Pamela replied with a nervous smile, awaiting her daughter's outburst that was sure to come.

Sam sat there in silence, quietly thinking it over.

"I'll be able to start over? Clean slate?" Sam asked quietly.

"Y-yes…?" Pamela Manson found herself to be confused. This was not what she had expected. Sam would have exploded like a volcano after receiving such news. Perhaps she had matured?

"Cool. When?"

"In a few days…"

Sam smiled, grabbed a few more cookies – leaving her partially eaten one – and trailed off to her room in rather chipper spirits.

Teenagers were _so_ confusing.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"Mom told you, right?" Samantha asked her grandmother as they packed away the monster plushies that were as cute as they were soft despite the fact that they wanted to be evil and terrifying. She was stroking one that had a gaping mouth, set in a roar.

"We're moving. A clean slate. A new school. A new town."

"Possibly new friends?" her grandmother asked, hinting hope.

"Possibly. I mean, it'd be nice but I don't want them to worry too much about my health or about my 'rebellious phase.' Bubeleh, did you ever have this problem?"

"Sometimes." the elderly woman said slowly. "People don't… understand. It's difficult for them to grasp. Ghosts. Necromancers. The supernatural… It goes against modern ways of thinking. Too chaotic. And you know how the human mind is, it can't handle the chaos or else a person is driven insane by it."

Sam nodded, understanding fully. The life as a Necromancer was never easy. They constantly put other in danger from ghosts, dead animals, and the like. She counted numerous times that she was thankful that her parents hadn't seen some of the things that she had. Decaying bodies with angered spirits slammed back in to them weren't exactly the types of guests her mother would like to cater to.

"Sam, don't worry. You're a sweet girl who's beautiful inside and out with a… colorful lifestyle. I just _know_ that there's someone out there who'd willingly put up with you."

"Thanks, bubeleh."

"Now, at this new house, I think you should refurbish your room and your wardrobe. I'm thinking dark Victorian. Very Goth. What do you say?"

Sam smiled.

"You're the bee's knees, bubeleh."

The rest of the day, they talked about some ideas and packed; tossing out any clothes Sam had outgrown or thought useless to her new Gothic image they were going to create for her in Amity Park.

By that night, all of their stuff was packed and shipped to a storage unit in Amity, except for the essentials (Sam, though, was roughing it with a sleeping bag on her bedroom floor).

She sat on her floor, typing away at her laptop. She was adding her last exorcism of the ghost to her log on her external hard drive. She really didn't need to keep the log, since she had wonderful memory but it was nice to remember what happened, when, and where. It was also nice to have a record of what lies she told and if she wormed her way out of trouble or not.

She scanned over some of her earlier files and winced at the memory of some of her earliest Necromancy efforts. Sure she had her grandmother to help teach her the basics of the ancient craft, but the fighting she had to learn on her own. Her grandma had had an accident after she had given birth to her twins, Jeremy and Jerrod. It had involved a super pissed of ghost and an archway support system.

"Us Necromancers don't die easily." the elderly woman had once said. "We bruise and scrape with difficulty. Broken bones are freak accidents to us. But to die, it can only be something to the heart and only at the hands of a Reaper."

Sam had a few bruises and scrapes, bruised bones, one sprained wrist, and a broken nose over the years she been actively acting as one of the city's local Necromancers – there were four of them total. She was living proof that it was difficult to break such strange, supernatural people.

_Then again,_ she thought amusedly, _our job requires us to deal with strange, supernatural people. It only makes sense._

Looking around her room, she felt very lonely. The place practically reverberated every breath she took. It was all together quite eerie, even for her.

Shuddering, she turned off her laptop and snuggled up under the sleeping bag. For tonight and tomorrow night, she would sleep in the emptiness of this room.

The night passed quickly, as did the day counterpart, until they found Samantha standing in the doorway of her new bedroom.

It was a large expanse of white walls, flush red floors, and gaping windows that overlooked the garden. So much work needed to be done and she had so little time to do it in.

Already ideas on how to sneak out in case there was any paranormal activity were forming in her ever ticking clock of a mind.

* * *

**For those of you whom were paying attention, I made a little nod towards **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer**_**, an amazing TV series that ended much too soon for my taste. If you spotted it, tell me in a response. ;D**

**The song that Sam has set as her ringtone in "Titanium" by David Guetta (feat. Sia). I have always loved Sia and it makes me proud to hear how far she's come from her previous works. I have "Titanium" as my ringtone and it happened to go off as I was reworking this beauty.**

**My favorite part of this chapter is when Sam's parents pick her up from the police station. They're so blasé when talking to the officer it was kind of hard for me not to laugh.**

**If you have any questions that you want answered right away, contact me via pm, review, Facebook message, Twitter, snail mail, or carrier pigeon. I'll get back to you as soon as I am able to. **

**Ciao, my loves!**


	2. Confidential

**Here's the second chapter for y'all. I really need to work on the next chapter of **_**FH**_**, I'll probably do that while I still have some time. I don't have class today but I need to clock in at least two hours of math each day of the week. I missed my twelve hour mark last week by an hour and a half. So, I'm pretty upset about that. **

**I'm going to shoot for Monday updates but we'll see as the story progresses how long that lasts. Hopefully I can keep up with it. The fourth chapter is **_**started**_** and I really just need to edit the third… So maybe?**

**Anyway, I know some people are really looking forward to this chapter so I won't hold it from you any longer. Enjoy!**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Confidential**

"_**Tell your friend a lie. If he keeps it secret, then tell him the truth." Ancient Proverb.**_

Everyone has their secrets. Sometimes, one cannot help but keep them from even their dearest and closest of friends. No matter how much one wants to tell their friend, it could often change said friend's point of view on their world, their very _life_, completely.

Tucker James Foley was such a person who held such a large secret and it was on days like this, the remaining ones of the hot summer before school started up again, that he debated whether or not to tell his childhood friend the only thing he kept to from him.

He sat at the local park, feet dipped into the not-so-cool water of the pond shrouded by the trees, mind in the clouds. He was oblivious to the young children splashing droplets of water onto his khaki cargo shorts and dark skinned legs. He had been out there most of the day. His skin, beneath the dark color, was starting pinken.

Finally, he sat up, startling several mothers who had thought him to simply been sleeping as their kids played. One even scoffed at him.

He brushed any grass he might have had off his arms, shorts, and head. He grabbed his backpack off the ground and tossed it over his shoulder, carrying it by one strap. He cursed quietly, realizing his cell phone was in one of the pockets and dug it out as he walked.

He pressed the '3' and then the call button. Tucker thanked God, or whatever high deity above, for the man who thought up the idea for speed dial. The phone connected with the satellite for a moment before it started to ring.

"Hey." a person said on the other line.

"I'm on my way over. What's for dinner?" he asked.

"Whatever Jazz is making."

"Cool. Be there in a few."

"'Kay. Bye."

"See you."

To anyone who had heard the conversation would think it strange that two very close friends could say so little after not having seeing one another in over month. However these two had very little need for words.

_Stupid summer camp,_ Tucker thought grudgingly. _Most of my summer was wasted. I don't see why I'd need to know how to tie different knots. I'm going to be a freaking rocket scientist… or a software designer. For the government, of course. Hopefully FBI or CIA. Yeah, that'd be awesome._

His eye caught sight of the ridiculously large house that had been built while he was away. He remembered seeing two people, a man and woman, discussing things with the manager of the local construction company before he left. He had caught some of the conversation. It had been over the countertops.

Tucker scrunched his nose. He didn't care _what_ his countertops looked like, so long as he had a nice wife who could cook delicious meals in their kitchen in his own large house.

The sizeable house was a few blocks from the downtown, a small section of old buildings clustered closely together. It looked kind of like something a person would see in some of those really popular chick flicks. (Not that he's ever _seen_ any of those . In a month.)

He could already spot the neon sign, reading: "FENTON WORKS, Professional Ghost Hunters, Catchers, and Gatherers." He could also spot the sort-of look-out tower, the Emergency Ops Center, perched precariously atop the old building. It was a menacing place to a stranger from out of town – not that they ever really _had_ any visitors.

He opened the front door, knowing full well that he was always welcome inside. It was his home away from home. The smell of steaks wafted to his nose, making his mouth water.

"Knock, knock." he called.

"Danny's in his room." a female voice replied from the kitchen.

"Thanks , Jazz."

He waved as he passed by to the red-haired young woman cooking on their gas stove. She waved back, watching his retreat up to her brother's room upstairs.

"Hey, Danny." Tucker said, walking into his best friend's room.

A grunt came from the boy at the desk. He was building another model of some spaceship. Tucker didn't even guess what one. Several were already hanging from the ceiling.

"Sorry that it took me so long to get here."

"Yeah, you said that you got back at two. What happened?"

"I got caught up in some serious thinking."

Danny turned around, blinking curious blue eyes at his friend.

"Serious thinking? Tuck, you only seriously think about one thing: technology. Well, and girls sometimes but not as often as you think about your 'babies.' So, what were you thinking about? The new iPod that was released last week or something?"

"Hey, Danny, we can tell each other anything, right?" Tucker asked. Danny looked at his quite confused.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you see…"

"Dinner's ready." Jazz called through the door.

"I'll tell you after we eat." he promised.

"Sounds good to me." Danny smiled.

The two boys raced, quite childishly, down the stairs to the kitchen table. Danny and Jazz said a quick prayer, before all three of them dug into the delicious feast the redhead had prepared.

"I hear that family that had that big house built is going to move in tomorrow." Jazz said, daintily taking a bite of the green beans. "You guys want to go and help me be the welcome committee with mom?"

"Will dad be there?" Danny asked timidly. He saw his sister flinch.

"Sadly."

"Then we'll go separately. Have fun."

"Danny…" she pleaded.

"Fine." came the grumbled reply.

"I also hear they have a daughter in your class."

Tucker perked up at this.

"Daughter?" he asked. "Is she hot?"

Jazz and Danny both frowned.

"I've never seen her." she told him.

"She's probably some sort of mutant that can't be in the sunlight, or, oo!, she… she could be an alien that they adopted."

"You're not allowed to watch any more sci-fi movies for a while." Danny told him. He turned to his sister. "Hey, Jazz, did you tell mom and dad that dinner was ready?"

"I did." she sighed. "They're too wrapped up in the ghost portal thing. Again. You'd think that they'd have learned from their mistake two years ago. Ghosts don't exist. It's a sick obsession. Danny, thank goodness you aren't like them. Wanting to be an astronaut is perfectly healthy for a boy your age. So is dating girls. Tucker, you're a pervert, stop it."

She slapped her hands at his rather vulgar gestures. Danny chuckled. The three of them had a really close bond. Tucker was like a brother to them, seeing as how they both grew up with him.

He looked at the door that lead down to their basement. It was an ordinary door, nothing particularly special about it. A small sign, of printing paper and red crayon, read: "FENTON LAB:KEEP OUT." That was normal. Today, like the other days of the past week, caution tape hung all over it, warning anyone with its DO NOT CROSS in bold, black letters against the sharp yellow.

Danny had borrowed what was left. He wanted to hang it on his door. His mom had looked slightly worried. His dad had agreed to it, so long as he and his mother both knew if there was girl over. (That was a joke, really, because what girl in her right mind would ever be interested in _him_? But it had caused him to blush nevertheless.) Jazz had gotten all psychotherapist on them and assured both parents that her brother simply wanted privacy, something which was a rare occurrence in this house.

He jumped when the door was slammed open by his father.

"Looks great, Jazzy." the man said, plopping down in his usual chair and immediately piling food on.

"Thank you for making dinner, Jazz honey." their mother said, pecking her daughter on the top of her head. "It looks good."

"Of course it looks good," Jazz said, "the stove is the one place you haven't tried to mess around with yet."

"Ha ha! That'll be our next project!" their father declared. Jazz groaned. To Tucker he said, "We're working on the ghost portal again. It's going to be great! Imagine, we'll be able to see in to the ghost world."

"Sounds great, Mr. Fenton." Tucker said slowly, quite unsure of the man's sanity at this given time. For the most part he ignored their eccentric ways, but it was times like this that he really worried; mostly for himself, partially for Danny and Jazz. But mostly himself.

For the rest of the meal, all the two adults talked about was their ghost portal that was being constructed just below them. For some reason, it made Danny uneasy to know that something that led to another dimension was right in his very basement.

"You staying the night?" his mother asked his friend as she collected the dishes. "Danny, you're washing these tonight."

"Can't. Mom wants me home tonight." Tucker said, handing her his plate and utensils. "Just got back from summer camp, so she's kind of expecting me to at least spend one night at home before I stay the night anywhere else."

"Well, just be safe when walking home."

The two boys headed back upstairs to Danny's room after they cleaned the food from their plates. Tucker collapsed onto his friend's bed. The other went back to his desk chair, where he quickly checked over his model.

"So, you were going to tell me something?" Danny pointed out.

"Huh? Oh…" Tucker gulped, not really wanting to tell his best friend the one thing he'd hidden for years quite yet. "I think you're sister's hot."

Danny choked on the saliva he'd been swallowing.

"What?" he coughed.

"I think your sister's hot."

In truth, he thought she was cute. So, it wasn't a total lie that he did find her attractive in some fashion. Just not like _that_.

"I heard you the first time." Danny mumbled. "You didn't need to repeat yourself. And that's gross."

* * *

This was the closest they'd ever been to the big house. It was even more massive than they had originally thought. The walk-in path that made its way leisurely up to it; small bushes lined the way to the door.

Both boys looked curiously around them. The lawn was a plush green that was quite deep in color. The imported trees reached high to the blue expanse above.

Cautiously, Danny rang the doorbell. They could hear it chime inside and the sound of heels clacking loudly on the hard floor.

A woman, dressed in the fashion of a 1950's housewife opened the door with a fake, cheesy smile. She blinked down at them.

"Hello, boys." she said cheerily. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, hi." Danny said. "I'm Daniel Fenton and this is Tucker Foley. We just wanted to say 'hi' and welcome you to Amity Park."

"It's awfully nice to meet you, Mrs… er, ah…" Tucker said, not sure what her surname was.

"Manson. Pamela Manson." she chirped.

"Mrs. Manson."

"Oh, please, call me Pamela. Mrs. Manson is my mother-in-law. Come inside. Jeremy and I were just having out afternoon tea. I'm sure our Sammy-kins will be down in a few minutes." She lead them to a furnished parlor where a handsome man sat, setting down a tray of finger sandwiches. "Jeremy, we have guests. This is Daniel Fenton and Tucker Foley. Boys, this is my husband Jeremy. Oh, Jem dear, is Sammy-kins done with her little project?"

The man visibly flinched at the mention of his daughter. Obviously, something was not right, although Pamela seemed oblivious to it. Tucker guessed that it was the practice of the elitist woman.

"She might take a few moments more." he said. "But perhaps it would be for the best if she finished unpacking her things. She does need to prepare for school registration in a few days."

Pamela frowned. To the boys, she said, "Our Sammy can be impulsive sometimes but she's a good girl with good morals. She will be a freshman this year."

"Oh, cool." Tucker said. "She might be in some of the same classes as us."

"Unless she's going to ERHS." Danny told him.

"Ah, good ol' Emily Rose High School."

"Alas, all of their classes were full." Pamela sighed. "Is Casper High a good school?"

"My sister goes there and she likes it." the dark-haired boy shrugged.

"Oh, how wonderful." Jeremy said. "I have a younger twin brother. We were quite close as children. Are you and your sister close, Daniel?"

"Uh, I guess. I mean, we fight sometimes but that's considered normal. At least, she says it's normal."

The doorbell rang, signaling Pamela to answer the call of whoever was at their steps.

"Oh, I better go see who it is." she said, practically hopping off the couch she had perched herself upon. "You boys feel free to sample the sandwiches."

She scuttled off in a prim fashion, leaving the three of them to sit awkwardly for a few moments. She came back shortly with Jack and Maddie Fenton, Jazz trailing at the end looking rather embarrassed. Pamela strained her smile, obviously at dislike of the strange, large man chatting her ear off.

"Hey, there, Danny-boy!" Jack called to his son.

Danny sunk into the couch, neck and ears flushing. Tucker gnawed at his lip to bite back the laughter that was rapidly bubbling up.

"Jeremy, this is Jack and Madeline Fenton, Daniel's parents. And this is their daughter, Jazmine." Pamela forced out.

"Mom? Dad?" called a feminine voice from down the hall.

"In here, Sammy."

The girl poked her head in, causing Pamela to blanch and nearly faint.

"Sammy-kins!" she cried in a shrill voice that hurt everyone's ears. "What on _earth_ did you _do_ to your pretty _hair_?"

The girl blinked startling violet eyes. Her dark hair was chopped short in a fashionable way that framed her heart-shaped face. Her clothes were all the same hue, black, and form fitting.

Tucker's eyes bulged when he looked at her. She seemed to radiate a light, unusual as it was. It was eerie in more ways than one. However, he had seen this light only once before. One word raced through his mind.

_Necro!_

In a few seconds, his brain slowed down and he realized that his mouth was dangling open wide enough for a bird to perch in. He quickly snapped it shut, clenching his jaw.

Necros were rare, especially after the last hunt. This one was lucky to be alive, just like he was. Her light was a beacon that practically shouted who and what she was.

_Thank God there are no Reapers here._ he thought.

She caught his eye, obviously seeing his own light that he himself radiated that was only noticeable to the eyes of Necros, Reapers, and Ghosts. The two nodded very slightly in the other's direction before continuing with normality.

"You said I could start with a clean slate in this town, so I'm starting with a clean slate." she said.

"But… but… but… you're _hair_? Sammy… Sam… Sammy-kins… Why?" Pamela gaped trying to form a coherent and proper sentence.

"It's perfectly normal for an adolescent to rebel against their parents at some point in puberty." Jazz stated. "Psychologists see it as a healthy way to vent frustration from their changing bodies and the altering points of view on various subjects. She's being a normal teenager, nothing to fully worry about until she wants some body piercing and tattoos."

Pamela grew wide-eyed and her husband fainted, landing on the ground with a rather dainty 'thump.'

"Didn't take it too well did they?" a crackly, elderly voice from behind 'Sammy' noted. An old woman on a small motor scooter wheeled around the girl and chuckled. "Oh, I _knew_ it! Ten bucks, Sam. Hey, I think we should get you some of those temps and magnetics and see how they _really_ flip."

"Bubeleh… I _really_ don't think that's necessary. Besides, anything else might put them into a coma."

"And that would be a bad thing how?"

"…Don't tempt me."

The old woman smirked. As much as she loved her granddaughter, she knew she couldn't handle the teenage girl. She was young and full of too much pent up energy.

"Mom, you might want to close your mouth, it's kind of unlady-like. I also think someone should lay dad down somewhere… or get some smelling salts. I don't think it's healthy for him to be laying on the floor." the girl instructed dutifully. She turned to the Fentons and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Sam."

"Hello, down there, Sam." Jack said. "You're kind of scrawny. Don't your parents feed you enough?"

"Jack, hush." Maddie shushed. "I'm sorry about him, dear. I'm Maddie Fenton. This is Jack, my husband. Jazz is my daughter. Over there is my son, Danny, and his friend Tucker. Both Danny and Tucker will be freshmen this year at Casper High."

"Cool." Sam said. "Maybe we'll have some classes together."

"Here, Pammy, allow me to help." Jack offered the Manson woman, hoisting up Jeremy's body. "Which way to the bedroom?"

Pamela started to protest but sighed instead, deciding that showing him the way would be better. At least she would be able to keep track of him. Maddie followed. She stopped at the stairs and turned to the second generation.

"You kids have fun." she cooed, waving as she continued the rest of the way.

"So…" Sam began. "What's there to do around here?"

"You two go show Sam around town," Jazz told the boys, "I'll go make sure dad doesn't destroy anything."

A crash from upstairs and an apology floated down to their ears. Jazz sighed and clomped up. It was going to be a _long_ summer day.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

As it turned out, Tucker was _the_ person to go to if one wanted a tour of Amity Park. He knew historical facts about different buildings, the greatest hang outs, the lamest hang outs, the best places to get new technology for cheap and secret short cuts to any place in the town. He had this uncanny ability to talk on and on for several minutes without stopping for a breath about the local haunts and people.

"So, what do your guys' parents do?" Sam asked.

"My dad's an accountant and my mom does some cosmetic stuff for Mary Kay." Tucker said, hands stuffed in his shorts pocket and eyes watching his feet. "You know the company with all that pink? She does the parties and stuff."

"My parents are funded by the government to do some research." Danny said.

"Oh?" Sam inquired, eyebrow arched. "They must do something that the government think's important."

"It's pretty interesting." Tucker said, waggling his eyebrows goofily. Sam could already tell that he was the comic relief.

"What kind of stuff do they research?"

"Ghosts." Danny grumbled.

Sam stopped. Why the _hell_ would anyone want to know more about the ectoplasmic beings which have the tendency to find her at two in the morning and beg for her help? They were infuriating nuisances, as far as she was concerned. Interrupting her social life, forcing her to keep a distance from her parents, keeping her in trouble with the police… She just didn't understand it!

"Ghosts?" she asked calmly, despite her brain working up questions at ninety miles an hour. "Have they ever found any?"

"No." Danny sighed, sounding thankful. "They are working on a portal which they think will allow them to see into the ghost's dimension. Jazz, my sister, thinks that they've finally lost it. I agree in more ways than one. My dad's never had it to begin with and my mom's just going along with it… I think. Either that, or she actually believes in ghosts."

"So… is it, like, a hobby that they picked up or just something they've always been interested in?"

"According to my dad, his whole family researches some sort of paranormal activity. It's more of a lifestyle than a hobby. My mom was interested in this stuff in college, that's where she met my dad and my godfather."

"It sounds a lot more interesting than when my parents met. They were introduced to each other by their parents. It was practically an arranged marriage."

"That _does _make it sound a lot more interesting. At least your parents didn't meet in the emergency room when they were five."

"Your parents have known each other since they were five?" Sam asked. "So, they, like, grew up together or something?"

"No, they just met at the hospital when they were five. And then they met each other in high school again. How they remember that far back, I have no idea."

"It sounds like one of those cheesy Hallmark movies my mom likes to watch."

Tucker shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"His mom watches them all of the time." Danny explained. "Whenever they want to punish him, they make him watch the sappiest, cheesiest one they can find."

"When my parents want to punish me they just make me spend time with them." Sam said, face wrinkling in disgust at the memories of her groundings.

"My mom just makes me help my dad with building something. He has the tendency to rant, mostly about his childhood. Trust me, I don't want to hear why he couldn't have a pony growing up anymore. It was amusing as a kid, but now it's worse than hearing about the time he accidentally created x-ray goggles… Don't ask how he pulled that off."

"And here is the place where we hear most of those rants!" Tucker announced, pointing up towards the sign as she stopped.

Sam looked up, squinting against the light of the sun and read, frowning.

"They're ghost hunters?"

"You're not freaked out are you?" Danny asked, worried that he might lose another possible friend.

"Why would I be freaked out? Ghosts don't _really_ exist." _Liar_.

"Most girls in this town tend to stay away from me because my parents are professional ghost hunters. They think that I'll be weird too."

"Dude, you _are_ weird." Tucker said, unlocking the door with the spare key that was hidden underneath the welcome mat. "I mean, how many guys that attend Casper High want to be an astronaut as compared to a football player."

"You want to be an astronaut?" Sam asked. She seemed to be learning quite a bit about Danny from Tucker, just as she was learning quite a bit about the talkative one.

Tucker was flirtatious and a bit of a loud mouth. He had the tendency to speak whatever came to mind. He also ate meat (something she detested, mostly due to being a Necromancer) and he that he had a strange infatuation with technology.

Danny was kind of quiet, but he was thoughtful and kind of sweet for a high school boy. He reminded her of Peter Parker from the _Spider Man_ comics that her dad had collected as a teenager and passed down to her when he first saw that she had no interest in dresses, make-up and boys. He was awkward in his skin and he had a knack for building models.

She smiled as Danny held the door open for her, more so out of trained manners than of being chivalrous.

Sam found the house to be quaint. There was a lot of 60's furniture decorating the house but it looked sort of cool the way it was tastefully done. She guessed that Danny's mom had done it for his dad to remind him of their younger years.

"This is my home." Danny said nervously. Compared to her house, this place was miniscule. It wasn't lavishly decorated; all of their furniture had been bought at thrift stores; the carpet needed to be cleaned, quite badly; from here he could smell potatoes rotting. But it was home nonetheless.

"It's homey. I like it." Sam commented, looking around. A slight smile warmed her otherwise neutral features. "I kind of wish my parents would get something like this, but they've both been pampered to death and back since they were swaddled in their blankets. I'm sure they were fed with 100 karat gold spoons, too."

"What do you have against your parents?" Tucker asked. "They can get you what ever you want _when _ever you want."

"That's exactly the problem. I kind of wish I was normal sometimes."

The dark-skinned boy caught the look she sent. She just didn't want her parents to have an average paying job and to live in average housing. She wanted to be normal, to be human. She didn't want to be a Necro.

"Funny, I wish the same thing sometimes." Danny said, cocking his head to the side and crossing his arms over his chest as he collapsed into the couch. Yeah, that needed to be cleaned, too.

"So, where's this portal thing you mentioned?" Sam asked, looking around.

"The basement." Tucker said, taking a swig out of the water bottle he grabbed from the refrigerator.

"I hope that you'll recycle that." Sam scolded.

"We're not allowed in the basement." Danny told her. "My parents are so private about their work. They have a lot of competitors in the ghost hunting business. They don't like to announce what they're making until they're done with it."

"Dude, there's a ghost hunting business?" she heard Tucker ask.

Sam had already opened the basement door.

"This one, right? I kind of guessed. I mean, the caution tape and the sign didn't announce where their workroom was at all or anything." Sam stated, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Just down these stairs?"

Danny was about to tell her to stop but he saw no harm in _looking_ at anything his parents were working on. Everything would be alright, so long as nothing would be broken. Plus, his parents didn't need to be so confidential about everything they did, especially when it came to their family.

He followed the dark-haired girl down into the unknown. Tucker trailed after, reluctantly but dutifully.

* * *

**Author stuff: Emily Rose High School gets its name from **_**The Exorcism of Emily Rose**_**, which is based on the true story of Anneliese Michel. My sister told me about it. It's actually a rather interesting story. Go look it up.**

**Usually, for those who don't know, I thank my reviewers and those to follow me, the story and other things but for this I decided to only really keep things short and simple. I will still thank everyone, just not by name. I **_**will**_** answer any questions that anyone has. **

**So, thank you to everyone who reviewed in the past, as well as my new folks who now follow me and this story. Also thanks to everyone for the favs. **

**A bit about Necromancy: Necromancy does come from nekr****ó****s (dead) and mente****í****a (divination). Entomology is great. I like to randomly look up the root meanings of words sometimes… Ars Falcis (an internet site) is a great place for information if you would like to know more on Necromancy. It's my number one source. ;-) The creator is wonderful and quite helpful.**


	3. Ennui

**Can anyone say: Early update? I was just too excited **_**not**_** to post this early! Next week, expect the chapter to be on Monday, as what I intend. If I ever **_**do**_** finish something early, I will attempt to post it before my scheduled day. Now, I have some news.**

**Some bad news: I just recently learned that Ars Falcis officially closed on October 2012 because the hosting web company had problems against it supporting their strong Christian values. Which, I do understand. However, it received more hits than any other page in their registry and the author of it is very upset. The site had been there for **_**10**_** years and they didn't want to associate with the author's "brand." **

**Some almost good news: He does have another website, the Library of Knowledge, but it does not hold the same information. Although, he's talking about making it into a book so we'll see.**

**In other, more pleasant news, things are going smashingly over here at iOc's studios. I've been researching ghosts – and freaking myself out quite a bit doing so – and I've been looking into other things that have to do with this story. That includes creating a timetable for the characters' classes. (headdesk) I **_**did **_**manage to do it. And create a long list of teachers working at the school. As well as list **_**all**_** of the classes that they teach. I think it's mostly for me so I can keep the inessentials straight. Oi vey.**

**And some great news: I'm also close to completing the next chapter for this and **_**FH**_**, for my **_**Soul Eater**_** followers who are wondering what's happening with that. Yeah, I got stuck. Sorry.**

**Anyway, I want to remind people that I am simply reworking the first three chapters of this fic. The rest have never been read by anyone else's eyes but mine. This chapter is very similar to the original version; however I added in a scene that many of the original followers haven't seen. It was supposed to be in the next chapter but I bumped it up because I mentioned something and never brought it in. I also found a quote for this chapter. :D The original version was lacking it, making me wonder if I actually **_**looked**_** for one at all. But it's all good.**

**Now, enjoy this chapter or I'll send my army of flying rodents at you.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 3**

**Ennui**

"_**Life goves us choices. You either grab on and just go for it, or you just sit back on the sidelines." Christine Feehan,**_** Night Game**

The lights flickered on, humming to life to brightening up the enclosed space. The light reflected off some of the shinier pieces and the walls. It was none of the interesting, however, shiny parts that peaked the curiosity of Samantha Manson, it was the large hole in the wall at the far back end of the laboratory.

She walked over to it, eyes amazed. Danny's parents had built this? It _looked_ like it could work but she had no honest idea if it would or not. She gently brushed her fingertips on the cool steel, a chill crawling up her spine.

Oh, yes, this could eventually work, she could feel it. Ectoplasmic energy waves radiated off the thing. Some day soon, this could make it easier for ghost to find her and to ask for her personal help. It would also make her job for sending them back a whole lot easier.

"I really wouldn't touch anything." Danny cautioned. "Most of the things my parents make tend to explode, come to life and eat my underwear and homework… or attack me."

"Your parents' inventions _actually_ work?" Sam gasped, turning around to gape at him. Were the Fenton's capable of doing something only Necromancers could do?

"Not work, attack me and my things. I don't know what they have against me but whatever their problem, they seem to think I'm the cause of it."

Sam eyed him over. He didn't glow any special light, like Tucker. She blinked, activating a trick she and her grandmother call the Mind's Eye, mostly because it allowed her to spot the friendlies and unfriendlies. She guessed that Tucker must have his Mind's Eye activated all the time because he needed to look out for a Necromancer (wherever she might be) or to spot ghosts.

In her Mind's Eye, Danny had the normal glow of a human or at least it _appeared_ he did. His color was… slightly off. It was as if he was ill or something. He looked perfectly healthy. He radiated normal body temperature.

It was then that she noticed. There was ectoplasm pretty much _everywhere_ in the house. It seemed to be caked in layers on everything that it could. And it wasn't just visible with her Mind's Eye, either. What the _hell_ was going on?

_Is it possible for a human to be infected by ectoplasm?_ she thought. _I thought I remember something sort of like it in the books bubeleh lent me, but I'll need to look it again._

"I think it's time to head home." Tucker said. "It's after seven already."

"Seriously?" Same asked, switching her Mind's Eye off in a blink. She checked her cell phone and cursed. "Dinner's at seven thirty and if I'm not there to supervise what they make, I just might have to cook something for myself. Again."

"Do you need help getting home? I know these streets can be pretty confusing and it's on the way to my house."

Sam was about to tell him no, but the soft flicker of his glow made her rethink it for a second.

"Alright. Bye, Danny. Maybe I'll see you at registration in two days."

"Bye." Danny said, waving feeling quite dumbfounded at the sudden up and leaving of his old friend and quite possibly new friend. He shook his head, went back upstairs, turned off the lights, and closed the door.

Nothing had been disturbed. He wouldn't get into trouble. Everything would be alright.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"So, how long have you known you were a Necro?" Tucker asked, hands stuffed into his pockets.

"A what?" Sam asked, wrinkling her nose.

"A Necromancer. I call you guys Necro for short. So, how long have you known?"

"Since I was three, I guess. I saw an old lady in my room. She was trying to get me to help her. It's a good thing my bubeleh came in and saw her and not my parents. They would have sent me to a shrink for talking to myself, despite the fact that it is quite normal for a three-year-old to do that."

"Neither of your parents is a Necro? How does that happen? I thought that it was a genetic trait that's supposed to go through the eldest child of every generation of that Necro's children. That is, unless, your family is one of the older Necro clans. The Manson surname does trace back to around the times when things started to go all wacko…"

"Huh?"

"Okay, a really, really, _really_ long time ago, the Manson family were actually Magnusson family line. The Magnusson family were known for powerful kings of Norse-Vikings. The reason that they were so powerful was because they had many Necros in their family. All of their eldest children were male heirs, until one king gave birth to a girl, Katherine. She gave birth to triplets all male heirs for the throne and all three Necros. Those three sons would go on to each have a set of triplets on their own and then those triplets to have their own triplets. It seemed that the gene seemed to skip a generation and then reappear in the next.

"Any of Katherine's line have been considered cursed. It seems as if you are pretty much a direct descendent. Lucky, most would _kill_ to be in her line. Any Necros that have her as an ancestor are known to be a lot more powerful."

"I'm really not that much more powerful than any normal Necromancer. Honest, Tucker. And besides, I'm an only child, not one of three."

He considered her words for a moment before trusting her words. A person _would_ know if they were more powerful than any other of their kind or if they had any missing siblings. It was, after all, something that they could simply sense.

"So, how long have you known?" she asked.

"Known what?"

"That you were an Alchemist."

"Since I was two and I accidentally messed with my mom's frying pan. She was pretty miffed about that. I think she still is."

"What's it like, being one?"

"It's like being a baker or a chef. Or maybe a scientist… You need all of the necessary materials in order to concoct whatever it is you want to make. It's like being a god of metals and stuff. I'm like some powerful sorcerer-scientist guy. What's it like for you?"

"Kind of like being the nanny for other peoples' messes. I clean one thing and then I have to clean another thing up. It's more annoying than anything else."

"Have you tried raising anyone? Like, bringing them back into their bodies?"

"Not really. There was that one time I brought my grandpa back to life in the hospital after he died. The nurse had a mental breakdown. My grandpa, on the other hand, had a nice chat with me. He seemed surprised that I'm a Necromancer. I haven't talked to him in a while, though. It's only since I've been in middle school that I've been able to summon just the spirits of people and not send them into their bodies."

"You're ahead of the rest of the curve for our age, though, if that's any consolation. Most Necros can't do that at least until their in their thirties or forties."

"Hey, I've got a question." Sam asked when they reached her gates.

"Shoot."

"How do you know so much about Necromancers?"

"I have a guidebook."

"There's a _guidebook_? How come nobody ever told me that there was a freaking guidebook? Why am I the last on to find out about it? …There's _seriously _a _guidebook_?"

"I don't know, ask your grandma."

"Hey, another question, do you see the amount of ectoplasm in the Fenton's basement?"

"Yeah, the visible stuff's caked on the basement but it's all over the house. You just turn off your special vision to ignore it. I usually keep mine on unless I'm there. I've been looking for a Necro for a while."

"What happened to yours?"

"She… she died at a young age. Reapers… What about your Alchemist? What happened to him?"

"He was thrown off a bridge by a ghost. Big battle, caused a lot of panic. Nobody else died, just a lot of happy doctors from all of the injuries. His mom was pretty upset but she had another son to pay attention to, so it turned out alright in the end, I suppose." she hummed, stopping

"Well, I think this is where we say goodnight." he bowed, causing her to laugh, and started to head towards his home.

"Hey, Tucker, one more question."

"What?"

"Do you notice that Danny's life force is different from other humans'?"

He froze. Was it? Was Danny different from other humans? No, not really. He closed his eyes and thought back. His life force, when he looked at it, _did_ seem a little off but he never really thought about it.

He was about to say so, when Pamela ushered the Fentons out of her home and to the gates.

"It was nice meeting you." she said, faking a smile.

"Hi, Pamela." Tucker said, waving.

"It's Mrs. Manson." she snarled rather bitterly. She grabbed her daughter by the wrist and pulled her in. "Come along, Samantha, we have much to talk about."

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

After managing to break from her mother's gossip, Sam slipped into her grandmother's room. There were still many unopened boxes stashed in the corners, but her bed was made up and ready for the elderly woman.

"Bubeleh?" Sam called, looking around.

"Bathroom, give me a minute." came the reply. No sooner had it come, then the toilet flushed and the sink started to run. The graying woman came out, wiping her hands on her worn nightgown. "Alright, what is it that you need?"

"Is there a guidebook? On being a Necromancer?"

"Ah."

The woman made her way over to one of the boxes and dug around inside of it. She pulled out a wooden container, unlocking it with a key she always wore around her neck. Sam had often wondered what it was for but she never had the courage to ask.

Her grandmother pulled out a leather bound book with strange writing on the cover. It looked far newer than it probably was. This has been passed down for generations. Since your great-great-great, something-great ancestor Katherine Magnusson. She wrote it, you know. It has our entire family history, marking who was what. Oh look, there's your Great-uncle Vinnie. He was a Soothsayer, you know."

"Soothsayer? What's a Soothsayer?" Sam asked, eyeing the rather obnoxious family tree. The book was a curiosity; as the family became more diverse, one had to flip of section of paper that were attached to the ones bound inside. It _did_ list a lot of her family members. Where was she? Ah, there.

"Soothsayers are a part of this book. It'll do you some good to read it."

"How come you never gave it to me before today?"

"You think you're the standard for Necromancers? Ha!" The elderly woman laughed. "Samantha, you are not ordinary. This book can only give you the very basics of our world. It is meant for those who do not quite grasp what you are already capable of. You are beyond your years. Katherine only wrote it for her sons, who unfortunately were not gifted."

Sam closed the book and looked at her grandmother, who sighed and patted her cheek.

"My dear," she said, "you have never needed this book."

"You've been keeping it from me, though. Why not give it to me when I was younger and I needed it?"

"Your powers were too immense even for you. I had to ask a witch to help me suppress your powers for a long time. Samantha, I am sorry for that but with the way you kept growing the way you did… it would have _killed_ you. This book, it's not meant for you. It never was."

"Then why don't I know what a Soothsayer is. And what's this about a witch? Why would I need a witch to suppress my powers?"

"Don't worry about that. Ignore that I ever said that."

"What about the Soothsayers? Where are they all now?

"None exist anymore. They all died. Only one lived and she too has been dead for some time. Soothsayers no longer play a role in our world. We have no need for them anymore. Their time ended long ago. The only reason they hung on was because there were still prophecies to fulfill."

"Bubeleh, what on _earth_ are you talking about?"

The woman sighed and shook her head.

"I am old and I am tired, Samantha. Please, let me sleep."

Sam turned off the light and left the room, leaving her grandmother to her thoughts. She turned herself to her own room, still awaiting her to organize the boxes and decorate the walls.

She ignored the boxes and moved to her new bed, an iron monster of a thing in which fabric could be draped over if she was in the Romantic mood. Sam kicked off her boots and opened the book, beginning to read.

"_Necromancers,"_ it read, _"are diviners to the dead…"_

* * *

The putrid smell of sunscreen and chlorine filtered through her senses as she made her way over to her parents, who were lounging on some chairs out back by their pool.

She wrinkled her nose at her mother's taste in swimwear. It was a rather stringy thing that _just _covered what it needed to. Her father wasn't much better.

"I'm going out to explore Amity some more, mom." she announced.

"Will that Fenton boy be there?" her mother asked airily.

"It's possible. I mean, he lives in town, so I might bump into him."

"Sammy…"

"He's not that bad. Just give him and his family a chance, please?"

"Sam…" her mother sighed, sitting up.

"I'll be fine. I'm a tough girl, I can fight whatever comes my way." Really, she could. Dead or living.

"At least wear something a bit more colorful." She scrunched her nose at her daughter's dark apparel. The woman's eyes darted down to the necklace she had taken off to tan. "Here, wear this."

"Fine." Sam grumbled. She easily slipped it on. The necklace didn't look half bad against her skin. It was a simple locket embellished by a strange symbol and a silver chain. It was actually kind of nice.

"Have fun, and _try_ not to ruin the family name, dear."

"Love you too, mom."

She headed through the large house and stalked out of the front doors, one of the few people currently employed said farewell to her and wished her luck. She nodded politely and ducked out the door.

It was an unusually hot day. The heat licked at her skin, coating it in a light sheen of sweat and making her hair stick to her neck. The sun seemed to taunt her, as if it knew her secret.

She glared at it, skin bunching up at the corners of her eyes. Sam muttered a curse and moved on through Amity Park. A few people looked at her, mostly adolescents, but the vast majority ignore her. She didn't appear to be anyone special, or wealthy for that matter. The only thing that set her apart was the dark hue of her clothes.

She bobbed and weaved through the crowd, enjoying the last few days of summer before they tuckered down and chilled off. She faltered in her steps when she nearly collided with a girl.

"Hey, watch where you're going." the girl said, her Hispanic heritage very discernible in her speech. "Tsch. Weirdo. Wait as sec. Are you new?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam said, blinking.

"Hi, I'm Paulina." the tanned girl said, introducing herself. She gestured to the blonde who was about the same age. "This is Star. We were planning on going to Nasty Burger. You should join us."

Sam hesitated, mulling it over for a few quick seconds before concluding that it would be best if she wanted to make friend who was female.

"Why not? I was planning on looking around Amity. So, what's this 'Nasty Burger' like?"

"Well, it used to be called Tasty Burger." Star clucked, quite obviously not liking the fact that she was sharing her gal-pal with someone else. "But a prank later and it has been known as Nasty Burger."

"Sounds… delightful."

"Trust me, you'll like it." Paulina said, draping a dainty arm around Sam's shoulders and drawing her into a friendly hug. "So, where are you originally from?"

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Sam was not having fun. Paulina was a chatter box and most of her talk was about her looks and how popular she was. She and Star, along with a few others from the "It crowd," were talking about what they did over the summer.

"So, like, what did you do over break, Sammy?" Star asked, twirling a blonde tress around her pointer finger.

"I stayed at home." she replied, toying with her salad using her fork. "My parents went to Maui, though, so I kind of had a break from them for a while. And it's Sam, not Sammy."

"Sounds awfully dull." one of the football players commented. "Unless you held a party. You did hold a party, didn't you?"

"No. I mean, it's not like I hadn't thought about it, but it was nice. I got to do some soul searching. It gave me a lot of time to think."

"'Soul searching'? Sounds pretty lame." Paulina clucked.

Sam shrugged, sipping the Dr. Pepper in the cup she had been given at the counter. She really had gone soul searching, the pun being completely intended. She had sought out ghosts and whatnot during her vacation from her parents. They _still_ didn't know how many times she broke curfew in that time. She kept her face placid, as if she simply stayed at home and free of any deviousness. It was something she had learned over the years, something that was needed for her line of work.

The group rolled their eyes and went back to talking about how much fun they had over summer break. Sam tuned out most of the conversation. Smiling, nodding, and laughing on cue with the rest of them.

It was boring. She wished that Danny or Tucker would show up and save her from the ennui that was hanging out with the It crowd.

As if a it were a sign from whatever reigning deity heard her prayer and decided to answer, the two boys walked in, vividly talking about something. They saw her, smiled and waved. Then, they stopped, seeing who she was with.

"What do those _losers_ want?" Paulina scoffed, nipping a French fry in distaste.

Sam frowned. So _that's_ how it was when you hung out with girls like Paulina.

"They're not losers." she stated. "They're actually very nice."

The group gaped at her. In mere seconds, she was kicked out of the booth, along with her salad and drink. She straightened herself, and headed over to Danny and Tucker, who had just finished ordering.

"Hey." she said.

"Uh… hi?" Tucker replied, unsure.

"I got kicked out. Nothing new, though. So… What're the plans for today?"

"Just the usual," Danny said, retrieving his cup and filling it at the nearby soda fountain. "Hang out, talk about stuff, make sure my parents don't blow up the house."

"Sounds exciting."

"I'm being serious about that last one. Do you know how many times the town's fire-fighters are called in a week? I've already lost count and it's only Monday!"

The employee placed their items on their tray and sent them on their way. Sam wrinkled her nose at the food but said nothing, and followed them to a booth.

"So, where were we?" Tucker asked Danny.

"Uh… We left off at the clichés." the dark-haired boy commented as he nibbled on his burger. He turned to Sam and explained, "We're talking about modern horror films. Feel free to jump in, I _know_ you have some strong opinions on them."

Sam smiled. She did indeed.

"Have you guys ever noticed how it's always the black guy who gets killed first?" Tucker questioned, waving his triple stacked burger.

This was something she could definitely get used to.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

They moved on from clichés to too predictable plots and tropes.

"Ever notice that no matter how fast the girl is running through the forest and no matter how slow the bad guy's going, she'll trip and he'll instantly catch up?" Sam asked, pointing out a rather laughable trope.

"Oh god!" Danny groaned, smiling. "And that's usually the girl who lives in the end, right? It's so… so… Tucker, don't you _dare_ say anything perverted."

They stopped outside the Fenton's residence and place of business, perching themselves on the concrete steps, shaded by the building it was adjacent to. The door swung open to reveal Danny's mother, clad in a teal jumpsuit that clung to her like a second skin.

"Danny, there you are. Hi, Tucker. Hello, Sam. Why don't you kids come in? Jack and I want to show you something." Maddie said, ushering them past the door and into the air conditioning. Tucker and Sam sighed, pleased by how their sweat was finally cooling and the air chilled their bare skin. Danny looked slightly worried.

When she led them to the kitchen and the door to the basement was gaping open, Danny knew it was time to panic.

"Oh, don't worry, sweetie." his mother told him. "We're just going to start up the Fenton Portal."

Jack, dressed in an orange jumpsuit that matched his wife's, was setting up chairs for an audience. He smiled and told the three of them to sit.

"Where's Jazz?" he asked Maddie.

"Out with her friends. We'll show her later, dear." she said. Jack seemed to wilt slightly at the news but quickly shook it off.

"Now, you're all wondering why you're here." the man said, straightening to his full height. It was rather intimidating. As he spoke, he gestured to the giant hole in the wall. "We are here to present the Fenton Portal. It was manufactured by myself, Jack Fenton and my gorgeous wife, Maddie."

"Oh, Jack." the woman cooed, obviously flattered.

"With funds from the government, we developed this beauty. And now, for it's first test run…" Jack lifted two cords, one leading to the Fenton Portal and the other to an outlet hidden behind desks. With a gleeful cry, he plugged the two together.

The portal sparked to life in a flash of life, then… it crackled and died.

Jack and Maddie held their stances for a minute, two, then three. When nothing happened, they slumped.

"What could have gone wrong?" Maddie asked, looking over everything. Nothing seemed to be out of place, everything was where it should have been. "I don't get it."

"Anything?" Jack pleaded, overly desperate for an answer. Maddie shook her head.

"Come on, Jack, let's go. Kids, let's head upstairs. There's nothing we can do right now."

Danny, Tucker, and Sam followed the adults upstairs, stopping in the kitchen as the door closed behind them in finality. They winced at the sound and went to the living room, making themselves comfortable on the couch.

"We're going to go out grocery shopping." Maddie told the teens. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Stay out of the basement. Don't do anything inappropriate. Have fun."

All three sat, poised until they heard the sound of an engine rolling away down the block. Danny leapt up, looking rather fierce.

"We have to do something." he said. "My parents have been working on that portal for the past two years. The previous one failed too and I won't let it happen again."

Sam and Tucker looked at one another, then dashed after him as he headed to the basement door.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Positive." was the response.

"Tucker, camera me." The girl held out her hand as she followed Danny down the stairs. The dark-skinned boy gawked at her open palm.

"Camera? What makes you think I have a camera?" he asked.

"You're a techno-geek. Now, camera or face my wrath."

Grumbling, he dug it out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"What are you going to do with a camera?" Danny asked Sam, looking around the room for something. When he found it, he straightened up.

_Bee-beep! __**Flash!**_

He blinked the white square away.

"What was that for?" he asked her.

"I'm making memories and chronicling your heroisms." she said, checking the little screen. "Damn, blurry."

_Bee-beep!__** Flash!**_

"Sam!"

"Stop that." Tucker scolded, trying to swipe it away from her. This ended with him taking an elbow to the gut, winding him. He managed to wheeze out, "Sucks."

"Great, now I can't see." Danny said, waving his hands around in front of him.

"Box." Sam said. However, it was a little too late. Danny already tripped. He grunted and he fell on the cold floor.

She helped him up, rolling her eyes.

"It was just a camera flash." she told him. "People take more than that and they're just fine."

"I'm not most people" Danny told her.

"He's not most people." Tucker chorused in a breathless voice.

"Figures, I managed to wrangle the two wimpiest boys as friends." she scoffed.

"Hey!"

"I thought you were going to help your parents, Danny. Not blink like an idiot. If you're cowering out, I'll do it."

"No, no, they're my parents." he said, stepping into the white jumpsuit.

"Stop!" Sam said, grabbing his arm before he stepped in the strange hole in the wall. She explained, "I'm _not_ letting you go in there with your dad's face on your chest. It's kind of… creepy."

She peeled off the patch and signaled for him to carry on. She snapped another picture of him, checking the screen. She tugged on her necklace; it suddenly felt too tight, too warm against her skin.

"Sam?" Tucker asked.

"Hm?" she hummed.

"Did anyone remember to unplug the portal?"

"_Shit_!"

* * *

**Le gasp! I swore? WTH?! I never swear! …Er, right. For those that don't know, I don't like swearing or cussing or whatever you call it. This is probably because I'm around five and six-year-olds all day and they've been a good influence on me these past six years. **

**Katherine is a fictional person in history, don't go looking for information on her. **

**By the way, never watch "Dateline" while writing, you get strange ideas.**

**Anyone note how I said "fire-fighters" instead of firemen? I'm a Midwestern girl and that's what we call 'em in Chicago. **

**Anyway, this is my longest chapter so far. The next one will be shorter, unfortunately. I think. I aim for around 3,000 words a chapter, so we'll see. I'm still fixing all the minor details for it. Look for the fourth chapter next Monday!**

**Thank you to everyone who has followed and faved this and me. You are wonderful people. Also, many thanks to my reviewers. **


	4. Complicated

**I don****'t know if I ever mentioned it to you guys before, but I love to cook. It's fun and relaxing. I like the heat that comes from a homemade meal that just feels good to eat. It's comforting. If anyone ever needs any meal ideas, let me know. I've got a few good recipes cooking.**

**So, this chapter was initially shorter. **_**Much**_** shorter. It originally ended after the trio talked to Sam's grandmother, but I extended it because I got a great idea halfway through writing. So it's longer than the first chapter. Now, I hope you like it. ;D**

**Also, a fun fact, I typed the vast majority of this chapter and the next on my cellphone. The aforementioned new parts were added on my family computer – which had me freaking out the day after because my internet browser decided it didn't like me very much. I fixed it, don't worry.**

**I had a question from **NerdyWriterGirl**: **_**Is Danny eventually going to find out about Sam and Tucker?**_** To answer that question, yes he will. I can't go too into depth right now but he will.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 4**

**Complicated**

_**"That's what living in their world is – a big lie. An allusion where everyone looks the other way and pretends that nothing unpleasant exists at all, no goblins of the dark, no ghosts of the soul." Libba Bray**_

Swirling green, vivid shapes, urgent whispers, a terrified scream – of his name? –, confusion, the world growing fuzzy.

Then, intense pain. He cried out, thrashing his arms and legs around, or tried to anyway. His whole body was numb and torn between searing heat and bitter cold.

And for a single instant, he felt bliss before his world faded to black.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"... going to do?" a voice said. It was female and not as familiar as the male who spoke next but it was definitely recognizable.

"The important thing is that he's breathing." the male said. "We can only hope he isn't dead."

"You know, that doesn't really make sense. He's breathing but has no pulse. How the hell does that work?"

"How should I know!"

"You read the freaking manual!"

"So did you!"

"Ah, but the difference is, I just got it. You've had your's your whole life."

"Excuses."

"Guys...?"

The two stopped quieted. He could feel their eyes on him. They were waiting for him to speak.

"I can't see anything." he said. His throat was dry and sore, his voice an unpleasant croak.

"That's because we put a blanket over your head." the female said.

The blanket was removed and the bright, florescent lights burned his retinas. He cried out in surprise. He was given the blanket back.

"How long was I out? And why did you put a blanket over my head?"

"Dude, you've been out for days."

"What?" He sat up, bright lights be damned. He rubbed his eyes and looked back and forth between the two, his friends he remembered. Tucker Foley, who he had practically been raised to think of as a brother, and Sam Manson, the new girl who he befriended not too long ago.

Tucker was laughing. Sam, clearly irritated, smacked his arm.

"You've only been out for maybe thirty minutes at the most." Sam said. She started fiddling with her fingers. "But, there's something you need to know..."

She offered him a well-polished sheet of metal front one of his parents' newest projects. It was quite reflective. He peeked at himself in it.

"Oh man." he groaned. "What happened? Why's my hair_ white_?"

He blinked and his eyes changed from blue to glowing green.

"I..." Sam started.

"Dude, you're no longer human." Tucker finished.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked slowly.

"You _died_."

"Danny, you're a ghost." Sam said.

He looked over at her. He was surprised to see her glowing a pretty light. What color was it? It seemed to shift from one hue to another. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

Tucker was no different. He, too, had a glow. However, unlike Sam's it didn't shine as brightly or as vibrantly.

"Do you two know that you're glowing?" Danny asked.

"We need to go see my bubeleh. Now." Sam said. Tucker nodded. When Danny didn't say anything, she continued. "She knows more about this stuff than anyone else. Trust me, Danny, when I say that she'll know what to do."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, because there's no way in hell I'm sending a friend to, well, Hell. It doesn't matter if it's my job or not."

He was about to question her when a cry from upstairs announced his parents' return.

"We have to hide Danny." Tucker said. He looked around and grabbed a white sheet that had been used for something or another in the lab. He tossed it over Danny's head and attempted to look nonchalant.

Sam looked nervously at their disguised friend and Danny could understand why. Placing a white sheet over a person's head in the house of ghost hunters? Not a bright idea, especially with his father.

"Danny, are you and your friends down here?" Maddie asked, her shoes clicking down the stairs as she descended.

"Sorry, Mrs. Fenton." Sam called. "Danny was just showing us -"

"Ghost!" Jack cried, spotting Danny under the sheet.

"No, that's –" Tucker cried out too late.

Danny was blasted with a heaping clump of ectoplasm from a gun-like weapon. He quickly tossed the tainted sheet aside to reveal his normal self, black hair and blue eyes. Sam and Tucker looked quite surprised.

"Sorry, son." Jack said, scratching the back of his neck. "You looked just like a ghost there for a second. Great costume, though. Maybe I'll be a ghost for Halloween!"

"Danny," Maddie chided, "you know that you're not supposed to be down here. Someone could get – Is the ghost portal working?"

She looked back between the teenagers and the strange invention. Jack, too, looked impressed. Sam and Tucker twitched nervously under their sight.

"What did...? How...? When...?"

"We unplugged the machine and then turned it on with the power switch." Tucker said matter of factly. "Then we plugged it back in. It was Danny's idea."

"And, now we have to go." Sam said, grabbing their wrists and dragging them upstairs. "My bubeleh wanted to talk to us about something and we're a little late for seeing her. Sorry about intruding. Bye!"

She quickly closed the door to the lab and glared at Danny.

"How the _hell_ did you do that?" she gaped. "Ghosts don't normally do that. Ghosts _can't_ do that."

"I don't know!" he said, seeing himself in the toaster. "I am so dead. My parents are going to find out and tear me apart, molecule by molecule. I'm a freak of nature... And what did you mean earlier that it's your job to send ghosts to Hell?"

Sam looked at him nervously. She was about to respond when his pants fell down.

Danny quite mortified, quickly pulled them back up. That had never happened to him before. He went to lean on the counter, which he managed to do for a few seconds before his arm phased through and his head cracked against the plastic lined wood.

"We need to jet." Sam said. Tucker nodded. They both looked at Danny, who delicately rubbed the tender flesh atop his head.

She was adamant in not saying anything about her mysterious "job" and Tucker, too, was being quiet. It was far too unnatural for the trio; they felt the need to practically run to the Manson mansion.

Sam called out for her grandmother, whose response came to a great relief for the young woman. She led the boys to the kitchen and found her father and grandmother in conversation. Her father, embarrassingly enough, was still in the skimpy Speedo.

"What's wrong, Sammy?" Mr. Manson asked, seeing the slightly panicked look of the small group.

"Nothing, dad." Sam said. "I just made these two run faster than they've ever had to. You know, keeping ourselves in shape. Do you guys want a glass of water?"

Danny and Tucker nodded numbly. Neither of them were used to lying, especially too adults. Sam, however, did so flawlessly, almost as if she did it very often. She filled their glasses and handed them to the boys, whose hands trembled. She whispered something to her grandmother, who raised her gray brows and looked at the boys.

"Jeremy, do you mind if we continue our conversation later? Good. Sam and her friends were curious about my life in Paris. I promised to tell them about it yesterday." the elderly woman said, wheeling out of the kitchen with the teenagers right behind her. "Go spend some quality time with your wife. Or meet the neighbors, they're quite nice."

Mr. Manson stood there stunned as he was abandoned for his daughter and her friends. He normally would have spoken out but they did have company. Darn his good manners!

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Danny followed the three to a library with half of the shelves waiting for books to be placed on them. With the amount of boxes scattered about the room, it looked as if it would take a long while.

"All of the books are categorized by genre, then author, and finally title. Sometimes series, but that's another matter." Sam's grandmother said. She gestured for them to sit down. "Samantha, would you mind getting your guidebook? If I'd known sooner that you would need it so shortly after receiving it…"

Her eyes drifted from her grandchild to Danny. Her eyes were like Sam's but older and wiser; they could see through things that weren't there and they made Danny shiver.

It didn't take Sam long to return from wherever the book was; she came back, cradling it in her arms. She looked fairly tired, whether from today's events or what, Danny wasn't sure but he knew she would sleep well tonight – hopefully. School registration was tomorrow. She seemed like the kind of girl who could do that.

"Any specific page?" Sam asked as she sat down.

"No, no specific page." her grandmother said. "Not yet, at least. Now tell me what happened."

"We were in the Fenton's basement. They're building a ghost portal –"

"Sam, that's highly classified info!" Danny cried, surprised that she would spill his parents' biggest secret to a woman he barely knew.

"As I was saying, they're building a ghost portal. Or rebuilding it, from what it sounds like. Anyway, it didn't work. At first. It was plugged in and everything but there was one _tinsey_ little problem: it wasn't turned on. Someone built the on and off switch on the inside and well, machines don't work too well if they're not turned on…"

"So you hit the power switch." Sam's grandmother said, looking directly at Danny. "That still doesn't explain everything. Is there something you're not sharing?"

"When Danny came out of the portal…" Sam began. She stopped, biting her lip. She looked over at Danny and then down at the book on the table in front of her.

"He didn't look like himself." Tucker said, speaking up for the first time. "His hair was white and his eyes were glowing a freaky green color."

"It's not possible. Could it be…?" The woman nabbed the book from Sam and flipped through the pages. Her eyes scanned over the words at an unusually quick speed, her frown growing deeper and deeper. The three teens jumped up from their seats. Danny when he landed fell right through it and hit the floor. He jumped back, letting out a cry of alarm as he did. "That's certainly interesting. I'm going to need a couple of days to research a few things, I'm sure you kids won't mind waiting. I don't need any more time than that. I should have some answers for you before school starts next week. Don't worry, Danny, we'll figure this out."

* * *

The night had been interesting to say the least. While Danny had video chatted with Sam and Tucker simultaneously, he floated up to his ceiling. He had a good bump on his head from that. In fact he had several bumps. His body just did not seem to want to obey the laws of gravity.

The following morning wasn't any better. His _spoon_, which had fed him since his birth, fell from his hand and waiting mouth to clatter back into his bowl of milk and Frosted Cheerios – which did _not_ bring him any cheer. Then there was the matter of his eyes changing at various moments when his parents and older sister were around. He had to keep looking down and away from them to keep them from seeing.

_What was going on?_

He prayed that Sam's grandmother would have the answers he needed and hopefully she knew how to fix whatever happened to him. And _hopefully_ she could do it before school started up.

He quickly polished off his breakfast and prepared for school registration. Yesterday had been for the freshmen. Today was for the sophomores. Tomorrow, the juniors and Thursday was for the seniors. Jazz was already buzzing about being back in class. She didn't enjoy the summer like Danny and Tucker did, she preferred to be in a classroom learning something. She would make a great psychologist someday.

"You ready to go, Danny?" Jazz asked.

"Huh?" Danny looked at her skeptically.

"I figure you'd like me to go with you instead of mom or dad for registration. I'm less likely to embarrass you with talk about ghosts."

Sam's sentence from the day before struck him.

_"Danny, you're a ghost."_

Was he really dead? A ghost? No, he was quite sure he wasn't. His family could still see him, and although he had some difficulty doing some things he had managed not to mess up too much so far.

"Sure," he said. "Let's go."

He quickly texted Tucker to tell him he was heading to the school. Maybe Sam and her grandmother would be there? He hoped so.

Danny followed Jazz out to their parents' vehicle, the Specter Speeder. He would be learning to drive this year using that monstrosity. He hoped that whatever instructor he had wouldn't be too freaked out by the sight of it.

Jazz was fairly quiet on the drive over, not questioning him once. It unnerved him as she hummed along to whatever Katy Perry, Ke$ha, or pop star's song was playing on the radio. He generally listened to everything, but his preference was in folk and country.

"Mom gave me the checkbook." she told him as she parked. The school had been open for a little more than an hour and already to parking lot was full. The only spots were way in the back. Typical.

"So if you need anything, like a new gym uniform or whatever," she continued, "it's on mom and dad."

He gave her a half-hearted smile and got out of the Specter Speeder. The siblings made their way up to the main entrance and stopped upon hearing their names.

Tucker was sprinting over, gasping for breath the entire time. When he reached them, he wiped his brow and smiled.

"Good time to go for a jog." he said. "It's not too hot yet. It's supposed to be a scorcher later today."

"Gross." Jazz said, wrinkling her nose.

"I know." Tucker's phone went off, signaling that he got a text. "It's from Sam. She's talking to the counselor. They're setting up her schedule and they'll be done in a moment. Head over to the main office?"

"Head over to the main office." Danny agreed.

Danny, Tucker and Sam had traded emails, cellphone numbers, landline numbers and various other ways of communicating with one another before the two boys left the Manson mansion the day before. It was vital that they kept in contact with one another should Sam's grandmother come up with a solution to their current predicament.

The night before, the three of them had stayed up talking until one in the morning. Sam and Tucker explained a few things about themselves – Danny learned that Sam was a Necromancer (which _sounded_ pretty cool) and that Tucker was an Alchemist (which _wasn't_ cool because he'd never shared the secret before). Of course Danny was a little miffed at his friend but Tucker explained a few things and everything was fine five minutes later. The grudge _would_ have lasted longer but Sam smoothed things over. Civilians weren't supposed to know of their world, after all.

The three meandered through the building, the main office on the opposite side of the school from the gymnasium where registration was taking place. Along the way, Jazz stopped to chat with one of the school's English teachers, Mr. Lancer. She waved the boys to move on ahead without her.

The counselors' offices were set in the way back of the main office and they were adjacent to the nurse's office. The waiting room had a few people in it, who needed the schedules fixed before the semester started, but it wasn't overcrowded like it would be the first couple of days.

"Do you two need to see a counselor?" the girl behind the desk asked. Danny knew she was in Jazz's class – probably one of her friends – but he couldn't place her name to her face.

"No," Tucker said, "we're waiting for a friend who's in a meeting right now. Since you don't have much else going on…"

"Leave her be, Tuck." Danny said, watching as his friend attempted to flirt. It was rather appalling.

"Oh, Opal, you're working desk today?" Jazz asked when she finally joined them.

"Yeah, Lancer asked me to yesterday. I didn't have anything else to do today, so I figured, why not? What are you here for?"

"My brother's registering today. His friend, Sam Manson, just moved in so we're waiting on her before we go to the gym for them. Do you know how much longer she'll be?"

Opal looked at the computer screen where people clocked in and out to see their designated councilor. She scrolled up a smidge and nodded.

"Oh, so _she's_ the new girl Paulina was talking about on the forums last night. Said the girl's kind of a downer and a loser."

"She's nice, actually. She'll probably be a good influence on those two dunderheads." Jazz jabbed her finger in Danny and Tucker's direction. "Besides, you know not to take what Paulina says seriously. Unless it's about music or fashion. She has _really_ good taste in both."

"Hey!" the chorused.

"I take offence to that." Tucker said.

"Good, you should."

One of the doors opened. A cheery counselor babbled on about something and shook some hands, saying "Have a nice day!"

She turned to Opal and nodded, signaling her to send in the next person.

Sam and her mother walked out of the office, Sam looking quite pleased and her mother… not so much. There had obviously been some kind of disagreement. Mrs. Manson's mood turned even more sour, if possible, upon seeing Danny and Tucker.

Luckily, Jazz swooped in and brought the woman out of it.

"Oh, Mrs. Manson. It's so good to see you again." the redhead said, striding over to her. "What a lovely dress! Where did you get it?"

Sam made her way over to Danny and Tucker. She flashed them a piece of paper.

"Got my schedule." she announced. "I had to fight for a few classes but I won out in the end."

"What happened?" Tucker asked, plucking the paper from her and looking it over.

"My mom wanted me to take choir or something. I refused."

"Choir's an easy A."

"Yeah, but I like to work for my grades. I'm not going to be a pretty, little housewife like her. I'd like to be an engineer or something inspiring. I haven't really decided yet. How long have you guys been waiting?"

"Not long." Danny said, following his sister and Mrs. Manson as they started toward the gym. He took Sam's schedule from Tucker. "We really just got here a minute or two ago."

"Has your school always had classes laid out like that?" Sam asked.

"No, it's something the school board wanted to try out this year." Tucker said. "The timetable stuff can get weird if you're not used to it. At least we won't have the same classes at the same time, day in and day out. I wonder if we'll have lunch together."

The line for registration wasn't as bad as many expected. The line for I.D. cards, however, was ridiculous. After showing proof that yes, they lived within the district and yes, will be attending this school, they waited in the I.D. line.

Mrs. Manson did not look too happy about the wait but she seemed pleased when Sam showed her the picture on the laminated card. Danny had to admit it _was_ a good shot of the girl. His picture wasn't terrible, but Tucker's… they had to adjust the camera flash and print out several copies before they could get a decent one where he could be seen.

The line for schedules was quick, Danny and Tucker quickly comparing theirs to Sam's. They shared several classes together, much to their liking, and they were relieved to have lunch all at the same time, although they had different homerooms. The boys began rattling off about what teachers they liked and what ones they didn't.

The three of them hadn't been looking where they were going and Sam bumped into someone. She quickly apologized and looked at the person she ran into.

"It's alright." the girl said. She looked at Danny and Tucker and she frowned. "Why are you hanging out with those two losers?"

"They're not losers." Sam quickly defended. "If you took the time to get to know them, you'd see that."

"Whatever." the girl said, walking away.

"Who was that?" Sam asked.

"Valerie Gray." Tucker said with a sigh.

"She's not as bad as some of the In crowd but she's a part of it." Danny explained. "We were partners in science last year. She's really smart and she really cares for her dad. They've had it bad since her mom passed away a couple of years ago."

"She still didn't have to be such a bitch about you two, though." Sam said bitterly.

"Now, we need to sign up for our yearbooks – which won't come in until next year – and then we need to get the new school uniforms."

"The school gets a new uniform every year. Last year we had red shirts and white shorts. It was terrible." Danny said, following Tucker to the table. "Tuck didn't look half bad, but me? Let's all just agree that I'm white; very, very white."

Mrs. Manson and Jazz chatted quietly behind them, quickly writing up checks and then slipping away, to allow the teens some space. When the uniforms were paid for, Sam pleaded with her mother to allow her to hang out with Danny and Tucker.

"Have you met anyone else besides these two since we moved here?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, there's Paulina, Star, Kwan, Dash, Valerie…" Sam said. It wasn't a lie, she _had_ met them. She wasn't _friends_ with them but that wasn't what her mother was asking.

"Alright. Promise you won't get into trouble with the law? I don't want to end up being invited to a policeman's daughter's birthday on account of my own daughter being in trouble far too many times and befriending the police force. Again."

"Promise."

"Good. You will be home for dinner? Your father and I were thinking of ordering in. Does Chinese sound good?"

Sam beamed and nodded. Only on rare occasions did her family order in. This was a good thing, a _very_ good thing. She said her goodbyes, adding in a hug for her mother, and dashed over to the Specter Speeder, where the boys stood in wait.

"So, where to?"

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

The trio wandered around the shopping mall, eyeing the various end-of-summer sales and gimmicks, promising great discounts for school. Most of the clothes and shoes weren't marked down by much, but they were at least a couple bucks cheaper than they were before. It was one particular sale that prompted Tucker to buy a new PDA for the upcoming school year.

"Lester doesn't even have this one yet." he said, holding it up and cherishing it as one would an infant. "He'll be so _jealous_."

"That's nice, Tucker." Sam said, rolling her eyes. She looked around and spotted a store that sold some darker, more gothic clothing. "Mind if we check it out?"

The boys shrugged and followed her in. A heavy metal band was wailing away on the speakers and the room was fairly grim looking. The cashier looked up as they entered. She nodded towards them and then looked back down at a magazine.

"I didn't even know this mall _had_ a Hot Topic." Danny said, looking around. He spotted a Batman hoodie. He eyed the price before moving to the back where sales items would be. Yep, it was pricey.

"It's not Hot Topic." Sam said, browsing the racks. "It's Despair. It's sort of like how Hot Topic used to be before they moved into more Emo fashion. Some of the stuff from there isn't half bad, like the perfumes, but other stuff is starting to be made more cheaply, like the shirts. It's kind of annoying."

She found a few things, plucking them off the racks and trying them on in the dressing rooms. Sam ended up buying two of the five articles of clothing. She paid the cashier and they quickly left the store.

"Where to next?" she asked, looking around.

"I'm starting to get hungry." Tucker said. As if on cue, his stomach grumbled.

They made their way over to the food court and they each went to different places. They met up and found their table, snagging it from a group who just left and quickly wiping of crumbs and salt that had been left behind.

"Do you need anything for school next week, Danny?" Sam asked as they ate.

"Yeah, I need some t-shirts and new shoes, maybe some school supplies but I never get most of that until the second day of school." he said, nibbling on his burger. He felt himself hiccup. Out of his mouth came a blue stream of mist.

Sam and Tucker looked at him.

"What was that?" Tucker asked. "Is that a freaky after-effect of yesterday?"

Before Danny could reply, he was cut off by a voice above him.

"I am the Box Ghost – beware!"

* * *

**And so we end with Danny's first ghost. I debated doing someone or something else, but the Box Ghost seems like a good starter. Ultimately, he is the best comedic character the show has, with the longest running gag in its entirety – next to Tucker and his technology. **

**I feel pretty content with this chapter. It ran very smoothly. I actually started the beginning of it before my hiatus but I couldn't think of anything to follow it with. Now, however, I'm full of bright ideas. Let's hope that I can keep them coming!**

So, I'm thinking about giving a sneak peak sentence or two at the end of every chapter. Should I do it, yay or nay?

**Anyway, I was able to watch the entire first season of **_**Total Drama Island**_** yesterday and part of today. I'm about to start the second season. Oh boy. Lots of fun for me! I need to get some sleep…**

**To finalize NerdyWriterGirl's question: Yes, Danny learns about them but I didn't want to go too much into depth with this chapter. He'll discover more about their world as the story progresses, just as his powers develop and he comes into his own. This is sort of a bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story, just as much as it is a supernatural/fantasy story.**

I put up a poll for this story, by the way. Go check it out.

Also, I _do_ have a Twitter and a Facebook for my writing. In case you haven't liked me yet or followed me, and you really want updates on what's going on, check them out. The quickest way to contact me is on Facebook. For humor and other such nonsense, check out my Twitter. Both are updated when I post something.

**Thank you to everyone so far. You are all beautiful, beautiful people. Have a cyber-muffin of your choice.**


	5. Evading

**During FF's sitewide-update-breakdown-thing, I managed to write quite a bit and get some homework done. Before I got locked out of my math stuff. Gr! Had to email the teacher about that. It's all better now, though. :D**

**So this was supposed to be a shorter chapter but it ended up meeting my 3000 word mark. =.= Ah, well. Y'all are getting your week's worth in.**

**Anyway, if you like this story, check out my other ones. **_**CAFÉ EVANS**_** and its sequel, **_**FINDING HOME**_**, are pretty big in the **_**Soul Eater **_**section.**

**And to top everything off, I have a freaking cold. I've been hacking for the past couple of days – right after I have an acid reflex episode. Sounds like fun, no?**

**But good things have happened, like me being an official unicorn hunter. That's right; I got my license to hunt. What now? We all know I'm pretty cool. Speaking about that, you know how everyone says it's uncool to say you're cool and that anything uncool is cool, doesn't that make you actually cool to say you're cool? …I'm you could understand that at all, congratulations, you speak crazy lady.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent****'****s disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother****'****s slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she****'****s not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 5**

**Evading**

"_**Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?" Sun Tzu, **_**The Art of War**

"I am the Box Ghost – beware!"

Sam groaned inwardly. Really? A ghost? Now, of all times!

She looked at her tablemates, to see if they had noticed. They had, and so had everyone else in the area. Normal humans weren't supposed to see ghosts. At all.

"Cool special effect." she heard someone say to his friends. The ghost seemed to disagree.

"I am no special effect, human. I am the Box Ghost!" he declared.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sam muttered, "we heard you the first time."

To show his power, the Box Ghost summoned various boxes that no doubt held merchandise that the stores were hoping to sell. With a wave of his hand, one of the boxes tackled the boy who had offended him.

Sam winced when she heard the smack. It was just her job to deal with the ghosts, not play superhero.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Danny asked. Sam looked him as he gaped up at the ectoplasmic being floating above their heads.

"Just standard issue for a Necromancer and an Alchemist." she said. "And whatever you are."

"Yeah but normal humans aren't supposed to see ghosts." Tucker said.

"No duh." Sam bit her lip as she tried to come up with a plan. "Danny, we need you to create a distraction. Tucker and I can figure a way to get this guy to a more reserved area."

"Wait, what are we doing now?" Tucker asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"Ah, a ghost." Sam cried, pointing dramatically up at the Box Ghost. It was a rather pathetic display but it caught people's attention. She looked at Danny and raised her eyebrows.

"Huh? Oh! A ghost – run!" He ran away, crying ghost. Other people seemed to get it and started screaming, following his example. He was the son of infamous ghost hunters. If he was running away, they probably should too, right?

It didn't take long for the food court to be thrown into madness and empty. The ghost spotted the two teens and blinked at them.

"Fear me!" he cried.

"I'm more afraid of my parents ." Sam said to Tucker. She looked at the Box Ghost. "Why are you here?"

"I am here to scare insolent humans."

"That doesn't really answer the question." Tucker muttered. Sam ignored him.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

"Through a portal."

"Portal?"

"The Fenton's portal!" Tucker gaped. "It actually _works_?"

"Great. I _knew_ that thing would be trouble." Sam said. "We need to draw him to the roof. There're no cameras there, we'll have no evidence to erase."

"You've... done this before."

"More than you can count." Sam said, looking around. "On my count, run."

Tucker nodded and waited. She called out to the ghost and quickly started to sprint towards the emergency exit doors. He bolted after her. The ghost cried out and followed.

He attempted to cut them off several times, but he received a good punch in the stomach from Sam, who was more than willing to dish out any aggravation. She was a little miffed still from the argument she had with her mother over what classes she should take, not to mention having her free time interrupted by a ghost. Was she ever going to get a break from this Necromancer madness? Most likely not.

Tucker stopped a few times on landings to catch his breath. He had never run so much in his life – not even on meatloaf day at school and meatloaf day was his favorite day, too. He looked at Sam's retreating figure. She was almost to the top! With a heavy sigh, he quickly followed her up.

"It's locked." she said, testing the door to the roof. She moved back a few paces before trying to jar the lock open, wincing when her shoulder started to ache.

"Let me try." Tucker said. He crouched down, inspected the lock and nodded.

"Hurry it up!"

"Hold your horses, Necro."

"Do you want to live, Alchemist?"

Tucker didn't respond he simply held his open palm in front of the knob. It trembled before the door smoothly slid open.

"How did you –" she started.

"I'm an Alchemist. I control metal. Bend it, shape it, twist it, curl it, transfigure it. Whatever you need me to do to metal, I can." Tucker said. "You know, this lock if made of several –"

"No time!"

She pulled him onto the roof, gravel crunching under their feet. She quickly dove them both behind a heating unit. Sam signaled for Tucker to breathe much lighter. He complied; he didn't want to get caught so quickly.

"I don't have any of my usual ghost fighting equipment." she whispered. "I'll only be able to stun him, not send him back to wherever it is he came from."

Tucker was about to retort when the ghost burst through the open door and looked around. Tucker and Sam quickly ducked before he spotted them. The only thing they had right now was the element of surprise.

Sam sat against the silent heating unit, tense and ready to fight.

Tucker crouched beside her and waited for her signal. Alchemists normally didn't fight ghosts; that was up to the Necromancer. Heck, it had always been that way. He found that he could only admire Sam for her courage and bravery for having to do this for so many years all on her own.

Sam leapt from their spot, wielding nothing but her own fists and feet. She flipped over to the ghost, punching him in the jaw and spinning around on her foot to kick him. The speed and grace in which did this was inhuman – it was perfectly Necromancer of her.

Tucker picked up a couple of rocks and flung them at the Box Ghost, who was recovering from the surprise attack. The rocks did nothing but anger him.

"What part of 'beware' do you not understand, human?" the ghost wailed.

Tucker looked about nervously. There was no place to run and hide up here, really, just a couple of heating and cooling systems. The door to the stairs was blocked by the ghost. He took a second to observe the ectoplasmic being floating above the roof.

The Box Ghost was stocky and on the plumper side, with dark hair and red eyes. He didn't _seem_ all too threatening; in fact he appeared rather harmless, even with his scrunched up eyebrows and glare.

Sam took advantage of Tucker's distracting, striking the ghost with an uppercut. The ghost cried out and waved his hand. A box rushed towards her, and she just barely dodged it.

Tucker tried to warn her that the box was returning but it was too late. The box slammed into her back, sending her careening over the edge of the building.

* * *

Danny stood amongst the crowd gathered outside the mall. Everyone was talking and recording things on their cellphones about how a _ghost_ attacked them. He was trying to still wrap his mind around everything – Sam being a Necromancer and Tucker being an Alchemist, and him being… whatever he is. It was still too weird. And that ghost? It was the weirdest thing of all – and the worst bit was, his parents were _right_! Ghosts _did_ exist.

He was shoved to the farthest edge of the crowd, near the end of the parking lot and farther away from Tucker and Sam – who were still inside, as far as he knew. Biting his lip he looked around. He needed to find a way back in. Where was the employee entrance? Jazz had taken him in through that way when she had worked at one of the stores last summer.

Danny jogged through the parked cars to the west side, the side he was _sure_ the entrance was on. Not finding it, he moved to back side of the mall – not there either. Was it always on the east side?

He didn't have to check, though, because a scream alerted him to check upwards. Although, he didn't recognize the form at first, the voice was a familiar one.

"Sam!"

Danny felt a surge through his body and he jumped up towards her, the ground fleeting behind him. In seconds, he caught her and carried her back up to the roof.

Sam gaped at him as he set her down.

"What?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"How did you _do_ that?" she said, looking him over. "You have white hair again, green eyes too – and you're wearing that freaky jumpsuit!"

Danny looked down at himself. He was indeed in the jumpsuit. Had his physical appearance changed? He blinked and there was that surge again. In a flash, he was back to his normal human self.

"Freaky." he mumbled.

"Dude, about time you showed up." Tucker said. "We need your help!"

"If I knew what just happened, I'd be glad to help." Danny said. He turned to Sam. "So, you have no idea how this is possible?"

She shook her head no. Danny nodded.

"I am the Box Ghost – beware!"

"Okay, this guy is _really_ starting to get on my nerves." Sam said. "Anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of him? I'm fresh out."

"But I thought Necromancers could slam ghosts back into the… wherever they're from." Danny said.

"Let's call it the Ghost Zone." Tucker said. "It sounds cool."

Sam slapped her forehead. To Danny, she said:

"Necromancers _can_ put ghosts back into the 'Ghost Zone,' or whatever the hell it's called, but we're not capable of doing it without any equipment."

"_Normal_ Necros." Tucker pressed. "Sam, you aren't a normal Necro, you know that, I know that, your grandma knows that, Danny… I _think_ he knows that –"

"Hey!" Danny said, obviously offended.

"— but you can't keep doubting yourself. Necros of the Magnusson lineage are the most powerful."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm _not_ a direct descendent of Katherine!" Sam snapped.

Danny looked from one friend to another, not quite sure whose side to take. Sam's seemed like the safest, seeing as how she was stronger than both boys put together and she could do some serious physical damage to them; but Tucker was his best friend since… _forever_. Either way, he'd lose.

"Just trust me, okay? You can do it. I know you can, and as your new Alchemist I believe that you can do anything."

"Who says you're my new Alchemist?"

"I'm the only one in Amity."

"…Deal."

"Now, try to do whatever it is the hell Necros do when they send ghosts back to where they came from."

Just as Sam was about to prepare herself to attempt to rip open the hole to the 'Ghost Zone,' Jack and Maddie Fenton burst from the door that lead down to the mall. They had their guns at the ready and were poised for battle.

"Freeze, you ectoplasmic terror." Maddie cried. When she spotted the trio, she waved. "Hi, kids. Did the big, mean ghost chase you up here?"

"Um, hi, mom, dad." Danny said, very unsure of what to do. "What are you doing here?"

"Someone called us about a ghost." Jack said, readying his gun. It beeped, signaling that it was ready, and he fired. He missed the Box Ghost by several feet. "Gosh, darn it!"

Maddie quickly recovered for her husband's mistake and trapped the ghost in a net. She pulled him in and looked at the kids, nodding.

"The coast is clear. Are you three alright? Do I need to call anyone's parents?"

"I'm good." Tucker said.

"Just peachy." Sam replied.

"Alrighty then, we'll see you when you get home, Danny." Maddie said, pecking her son on the cheek. "Don't miss your curfew, Danny. Bye, Sam. Bye, Tucker."

The teens waited until the adult were gone before speaking.

"Well," Tucker said, "that was very anti-climactic."

"Completely." Sam agreed.

"Who wants to go finish our lunches?" Danny said, gesturing to the door.

"Good idea. How are you handling this world so far, Danny?"

"I feel like I've entered Wonderland and have met the Wizard."

"Dude, I think you mean the Caterpillar." Tucker said.

* * *

The rest of the day was, thankfully, uneventful. The three teens found themselves sitting in the grass at the park. Things seemed to carry on quite normally, except for the fact that the town was abuzz with the news of ghosts.

"I heard that the Fenton's actually got their ghost portal working." one woman said.

"Do you think that it's the cause of today's attack?" another asked.

"Who knows, it could all be a big hoax in order to get people to stop thinking that they're crazy."

The trio rolled their eyes at the comment, going back to focusing on pouring themselves over Sam's book. She had deemed it necessary to stop by the mansion and mention the attack to her grandmother; however, the elderly woman wasn't letting anyone into her study. She had locked herself in and would only let the family's employees with food in very briefly. Sam had been absolutely forbidden from entering for any reason.

As greatly upset as she was by her grandmother's dismissal, she was comforted by the fact that she had two _friends_ who were a part of her zany world. Although there had been no official ceremony, Tucker would end up being her Alchemist – someone to whom a Necromancer could rely on. Their relationship was never romantic, as it had been mutual throughout history; it was not that dissimilar to siblings.

And then there was Danny, a bonus friend who happened to come along with an Alchemist. He had connections to people with an unlimited supply of actual ghost fighting equipment, not just pig's blood bought from the local butcher. (That was one of the reasons she became a vegetarian. Dealing with pig's blood was not a fun task.) Although they still didn't have any answers as to what he exactly was, she had no doubt in her mind he was something unusual.

"Do you think the portal is actually the reason the ghosts are so clear?" Sam asked them.

"What do you mean?" Danny replied.

"Every time I ever saw a ghost, it would be a shadow or light or something. I could never really place specific details about who it had been. That ghost today, the Box Ghost, he looked so… _human_ and alive. I've never seen anything like it before."

"It's entirely possible." Tucker said, nodding to what she had thought aloud. "Ghosts have never been clear to me before, but seeing as I'm an Alchemist and they don't really go to me, I've never really had the chance to study them before."

"So, you think that by having a permanent hole to the Ghost Zone open is what is what made the Box Ghost look so real today?" Danny asked.

"Affirmative." Sam said, fiddling with the binding of her book.

"It could just be that he's a very powerful ghost." Tucker added with a shrug.

"No, he wasn't that strong. He just caught me off guard. I was hoping Amity Park would be different from New York." Sam sighed.

"That's where you are from, New York?"

"Lived there and Chicago before that. This is my first time in this kind of town. It looks like one of those places you'd see in movies."

"Part of _Nine Down_ was filmed here. The opening scene. My mom had a small role in it. That's how I know. She lived here her whole life before going to Wisconsin for college." Danny said. "They tried to build the ghost portal two times before. Once when they were in college, with a friend of theirs', Vlad something-or-other; I've never met him, but he was my dad's best friend. The second time was two years ago. It failed, too, and it would have been ready last summer but there were some problems with the wiring. I think they may have had the same problems as they did this time. I wasn't there when they showed it to Jazz. Tucker and I were at camp."

Sam nodded, looking down at the book in her lap.

"So, what is that anyway?" Danny asked.

"It's a guidebook for Necromancers. It was apparently written by Katherine Magnusson. She doesn't put a lot of detail about her life in here. It's weird. You would think that she would have, but apparently she didn't find herself that interesting." Sam explained. "It has lots of other things in here, too. There's a whole chunk dedicated to the races."

"Races?"

"Necromancer, Alchemist, Witch. You know, the one who were the most prosecuted throughout history. Well, next to the redheads and the Jews. I haven't gotten through a whole lot yet, but maybe I should start reading more."

"You really ought to read that, Sam." Tucker said. "There's a lot of very useful information in there – like your family tree."

"Shut it, Tucker."

"I'm serious. You _need_ to look it over."

She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you are," Sam said to Danny, "is in this book. Bubeleh saw it and she knows, I know she does. Why she's keeping it a secret, I have no idea."

She began flipping through the book, making note of the family tree before moving on to more in depth information about the various races. There were Necromancers, Alchemists, Reapers (disgusting, vile beings who hunted Necromancers), Soothsayers (an extinct race), Witches (rare, but not unheard of), Dwarves (greedy and conniving bastards), Faeries (not as nice as they seemed), Elves (egotistical maniacs), Ghosts (very real, and seemingly more apparent after the ghost portal started working), Vampires (of the non-sparkly breed, thankfully, and were actually a mix of the standard Vampire and the Werewolf), and a few others things she had never heard of before today.

The boys seemed less interested at the moment as she flipped through the pages. She skimmed the text, hoping to find the answer to many of their questions there. Nothing seemed to pop out at her. It was probably best to read through the entire thing, which could take quite a while with school starting up soon. She didn't know how much homework she would have and, seeing as how the Fenton's ghost portal actually _worked_, she had more than her fill of ghosts coming her way. She was practically a living beacon, not dissimilar to bugs during the summer and the zappers.

Sighing she stopped on the page about Soothsayers. It was a pity they were extinct. Imagine, the ability to see clearly into the future. It was interesting to know that at some point in time, people could do that. She began to read over the text.

"_Soothsayer were often Necromancers who somehow became charged with ghost-energy._" it read. "_Many, through this, are no longer Necromancers and do not possess the same prowess as they once did. The vast majority gain the ability to predict the future, however frightening it could be. There is a small percentage who can tap into—_"

"_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose,  
Fire away, fire way.  
Ricochet, you take your aim,  
Fire away, fire away.  
You shoot me down, but I won't fall,  
I am titanium—_"

Sam jumped at the sound of her ringtone. She quickly checked the screen and blinked when she saw her mother's name flash across it. Her mother almost never called, unless it was to remind her to be home before curfew or if some sort of emergency had happened. Perhaps he mother just wanted to know what kind of food she wanted tonight.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Sammy, oh good." her mother said. There was something troubling by her tone of voice and the way it wavered. "There's… I'm not sure how to tell you this."

"What's wrong?"

"It's your grandmother. She… she's been admitted to a hospital."

* * *

**And I'll end there for you all to wonder what will happen next. I've really got to stop ending my chapters in cliffhangers. I mean, I know it's good for the suspense and everything but it's really not needed right now. In a few chapters… maybe.**

**A few notes: The film Maddie was in doesn't exist. (I think.) If there is an actual film out there called **_**Nine Down**_**, I didn't know before I typed this up. The little slip in about redheads and Jews is very true, by the way. They were very much prosecuted. Sam (in my universe) naturally has red hair; she's also Jewish like she was in canon. So, there's three reasons right they she would have been killed. Sam relationship with the Magnusson's is complicated and a part of her history I can't talk about right now. Yes, I did make a jab at the **_**Twilight **_**series. It's not the best thing I've ever read, nor is it the worst. It has an interesting plot but the story as a whole was poorly executed. It could have been written much better. That's my opinion on it, at least.**

**Thank you to everyone for the love so far, y'all are wonderful for putting up with me. You all deserve cyber-brownies. ;-***


	6. Concerns

**Well, my week has been hectic. On top of getting caught up with my math homework, I have to start **_**Henry IV, Part I**_**, work on a presentation for Shakespeare, write an article for my school paper, be in a skit for my cousin's class (more on that later), and do some editing work in a book for my last class. Sounds like fun, no?**

**So, the skit thing. My cousin asked me about it last week. She needed two actors (myself and one of her friends from work) to perform this 3 minute skit in front of her and twelve other people. Her friend has known about it for about a month and he's had plenty of time to memorize the lines. Me? Just got the script Tuesday. And I already have all of my lines and cues down. We've only had two – **_**two**_**; this past Tuesday and Saturday – rehearsals and we're already better than the other groups. It should be noted that all of the people casted in the other groups are theater majors, and **_**all**_** of them are super anal about their performance and they're still having issues. And that's after a month-long practice. Yeah. So, who's freaking awesome? This girl right here. Well, my first performance after a four year hiatus of no acting is this Thursday. I'm pumped and ready to go!**

**Anyway, this is a short chapter this week. My brain's completely fried at the moment, especially after my dentist appointment this morning. Hopefully I can make up for it next time. I have to work on the next chapter for **_**FH**_** in a few moments. (yawn) Or take a nap. It's better to revitalize after such an exhausting week.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent****'****s disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother****'****s slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she****'****s not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 6**

**Concerns**

"_**When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope." Pittacus Lore, **_**I Am Number Four**

Tucker refused to enter the hospital grounds. He stood firmly against the gates, watching traffic and checking his phone for every updates every thirty seconds or so. He hadn't heard anything for three hours now. What could be taking so long?

Three knocks, the ringtone he chose for text messages, sounded from his phone. It was from Danny.

"_She's okay_." it read. "_She's just ove- exhausted._"

Well that was a relief.

Tucker texted Jazz to let her know that he and Danny might be coming over for dinner – maybe the Manson's, too, if they would get off their high horse and see how amazing the Fenton's are. He doubted they would and he had no doubt that Sam wouldn't want to leave her grandmother's side, she loved the woman. No one else in her family could have taught her everything she knew thus far about being a Necromancer – although, Sam seemed very sheltered from her own Necromancy. Was the old woman hiding something?

His phone went off again. It was from Jazz this time.

"_How about I pick up some Chinese and bring it to the hospital for everyone?_" Jazz texted. "_Sam's vegetarian, right?_"

As she said she would, Jazz brought a delicious smelling bag of treats for everyone. Tucker, who was normally quite afraid of hospitals, followed her simply only to eat. The want for food was greater than his desire to run, screaming, away from the building. In fact, he hadn't realized he was in, until they met up with Danny in the hall – who didn't want to crowd the room.

"How's Sam?" Jazz asked, sitting down next to him.

"She's a wreck." Danny answered truthfully. "I thought she was having a panic attack earlier. She's much calmer now, but she worried herself sick. She actually threw up and hour or so ago."

"The thought of losing a loved one, especially if they're close, is very difficult for many people to handle. She probably just needs some food and some sleep."

She held up the bag of food for Danny to see, and he smiled. Jazz gestured for him to take, which he did nervously before heading down to the room Sam's grandmother had been assigned to.

Jazz and Tucker followed behind, allowing him to lead. They waited for him to knock before sidling up next to him.

Pamela Manson opened the door. Her lips tightened when she saw who it was but she didn't object to them being there.

"We, uh, brought some food." Danny said. "We figured you might be hungry. It's Chinese."

Sam appeared by her mother and smiled. She looked worn out.

"Hey, guys." she said. Sam gestured for them to come in. "You brought food? Anything meatless?"

"Bok Choy and Tofu Lo Mein." Jazz said. "I had to ask to make sure. I wasn't sure what you liked. I hope that's okay?"

"I haven't tried Tofu Lo Mein yet. But I like Bok Choy."

"Sam, why don't you and your friends go down to the café to eat." Pamela said, looking at her mother. "Jazz, do you think you could take Sam home? She needs her sleep."

"Of course, Mrs. Manson." Jazz said.

Sam looked dejected, but she followed the boys and Jazz out of the room. The door closed quietly behind her. She allowed Danny to lead her down to the cafeteria on the first floor. None of them talked, but all of them could tell that the Goth girl was plotting something.

Tucker chose a more secluded table away from the service counter. He planned to question Sam on her thoughts. He could see quite clearly that she wanted to talk to them about something. But with Jazz being there…

"Hey, Jazz, can you go get some napkins?" Sam asked, as if reading his mind. "They're up by the cash register."

"Sure." the redhead said with a shrug.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Sam started talking.

"We need to continue the research." she said. "Bubeleh left some of her notes in her library. Tucker, we'll need your expertise to get into the room."

They all quickly peeked at Jazz; she was talking to the cashier, who seemed rather tired of listening to the teen, even after the short while. Danny and Tucker had no doubt in their minds that the Fenton girl was trying to help the poor woman have a mental breakthrough on why she was wasting her life working at the hospital when she could be out doing her dream job.

"What can I do?" Danny asked.

"You can help me look. Are you really good at finding things? Please say yes." Sam pleaded.

"Um… yes?"

"Good. Now, let's start getting out the food so Jazz doesn't think there's anything wrong with us. Three teenagers sitting down with food in front of them, and none of them – especially Tucker – are eating? Not normal."

"How do you do it?" Danny asked, helping her empty the plastic bag before rolling it and tucking it into a neat little ball.

"Do what?"

"Be so… normal?" When she gave him a confused look, he continued. "Like just now, you made us do something that most people would do on basic instinct. But us? We're not normal. I mean, you can talk to the dead and Tucker can do things with metal –"

"And you have freaky powers." Tucker said.

"– but you make it all seem like it's just a walk in the park. How do you do it?"

"I've had lots of practice." Sam said, shrugging. "My parents couldn't ever know what I was up to or they'd send me to a mental hospital. I've lied and cheated and stole and done other things that aren't exactly legal, but I've had to do them because they needed to. And when I showed up to school, tired and a bit sore from exorcising another ghost? I pretended that I spent most of the night studying and boxing."

"So, you wear a mask of sorts around normal people." Tucker said.

"You should know."

"Ah, but my Necro died before we ever really could do any of the ghost ass-kicking. I basically lived a normal life, just with some training in Alchemy."

Before Sam or Tucker could say anything more, Jazz returned to their table.

"It's so sad," she said, "that poor woman wants to be a burlesque dancer. Is that all she thinks that she could ever amount to be…? Now, let's eat. I'm starved."

* * *

Jazz willingly dropped the three off at the Manson Mansion, waving goodbye to them as she drove away. They waited until she was gone before entering the house.

A maid, who had been dusting a table, jumped when they walked in.

"Do you know if my bubeleh left her library unlocked, Kate?" Sam asked.

"No, she didn't, Miss." the maid said. "I could check with someone else to see if they have the key."

"It's alright."

"Will you and your friends be in your room, Miss?"

"Yes."

"If you need anything, just ring."

Kate the maid curtsied and left them standing in the foyer. Sam nodded before heading upstairs. She led them back to the library and checked the door. It was most definitely locked. If Kate wasn't working tonight, she would have kicked down the door – or at least attempted to. Her grandmother tended to put up some sort of charm or spell that warded off other Necromancers and kept them from entering her private places.

"Okay, Tuck, do your magic." Sam gestured towards the door knob.

Tucker cracked his fingers and held his hand above the crystal knob. It wiggled but it did not unlock. He tried again. A jolt of electricity shot up from the door and knocked the young African American flat on his back with a yelp of pain.

Apparently her grandmother knew how to ward off Alchemists, too.

"Now how do we get in?" Danny asked, helping his friend up.

"I don't know, maybe you could turn intangible or something and walk right through?" Sam suggested.

"Yeah, my powers don't exactly agree with me yet. What happens if I leave my kidney or something out here and I die in there?"

Sam rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to die. But if you don't at least try, I'll make sure you never reach six foot something."

"And that threat is coming from the shortest of our trio." Tucker said.

"And she is also the strongest." Sam reminded him, cracking her knuckles and her wrists. He gulped.

"Just try it, Danny. What could it hurt?"

The two watched silently as their friend focused on becoming intangible. He walked to the door and – _thump_ – walked right into it.

"Ow." Danny said, rubbing his nose.

"Try to get the white hair." Tucker said.

"And run into the door again? No thank you."

"Please, Danny." Sam pleaded.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. No way, no how."

"Dude, stop wimping out." Tucker scoffed.

"I'm not a wimp!" Danny said.

"Then just try one more time, please?" Sam asked again.

"Fine."

Danny focused and felt the surge. He looked down and he was indeed wearing the jumpsuit. Smiling, he looked at his friends who were beaming. He focused again, this time on becoming intangible. It worked like a charm. He slid through the door, quite literally, and he opened the door for them.

"Dude," Tucker said, flicking on the lights, "this place is a mess."

"Well, she hasn't really had time to unpack properly." Sam said. "She's been busy researching."

She walked over to one of the tables littered with books. Most of them had nothing to do with the paranormal, so she moved to the next table which procured the same results.

"Third times a charm." she muttered, heading to another table.

The third table provided more positive results but none of the books were of the same subject. She tried a fourth and a fifth and a sixth, all with no luck. While never really believing that seven was a lucky number, she peeked at the next table. The results were the same.

Just as she was turning away, a book title caught her eye. _Soothsayers over the Centuries_. She picked it up and flipped through the pages. All along the pages was her grandmother's familiar scrawl and it was all done in haste. As if she knew something was going to happen to her…

"Guys," she said, "I found something."

* * *

**As I said, short chapter. I did try to drag out the text as much as I could, even with my editing. And I did try to not end it so cliffhanger-y, but in some ways this chapter is and in other ways it isn't. And no matter what, I hope it sated your desire for now.**

**I want to remind fans of this story that this is a poll on my profile that deals with this story. I'm thinking about doing a collection of one-shots that explains a few scenes that aren't fully explored withing this story. I might do it, depending on the response that I get. If you haven't voted already, please do so. It would make me very happy.**

**Well, I need to go do some serious work for a while and sleep. Sleep sounds good. iOc, signing off!**

**(Also, much love to my readers out there who have faved and followed and reviewed so far. You're all fabulous.)**


	7. Trepidation

**I know I said that I'd do a longer chapter next time – but quick update! Yay! I was too excited about my performance earlier. We did really well, considering we only had two rehearsals. People who had more did worse. I dropped a line, my partner froze, and I forgot to throw my book at a certain point, but we recovered really quickly. Fingers crossed and hoping my cousin gets a good grade!**

**Anyway, you probably notice that the title doesn't start with an "E" or a "C" this time. Does this mean some changes? ;D I might switch letters that I use now or go back to my first two and only do different letter when something important happens. (If that made no sense to you, just ignore it.)**

**Just so everyone is aware, I had to do a rush edit on this, so any mistakes might be fixed later if I decide to go back and edit. **

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 7**

**Trepidation**

"_**What are you?" I rasped.  
It smiled. "Whatever scares you."  
Kim Harrison, **_**Dead Witch Walking**

The book with her grandmother's handwriting lay heavily on the plush, red carpeting. It sat open for the three of them to read. Sam gnawed at her lip nervously.

"_Sam,_" it read, "_there is much to tell you and very little time to say it all. I wish that I had more time for confirmation, but the urgency in I am writing this is greater than any could want. Firstly, you must understand that I have kept much from you. Not because I wanted to but to protect you. You are in danger, Samantha. Keep your friends close for now they are in danger as well._

"_Secondly, your dark-haired friend – Daniel – is a Soothsayer. All of the information you three will need to know is in this book. I hope it come of great use for you. _

"_Thirdly, use your guidebook. Memorize everything in there. It could save your life someday. If the Reapers ever find you, _**burn it**_. You must do this, Samantha. If they were to find it... I would not like to see what they would do to you._

"_And lastly, run. If you ever see a Reaper, run. They will not hesitate to kill you. They have no mercy to Necromancers of your power or lineage. _

"_Keep safe, my pet. Love, Ida._"

Sam's brows were furrowed as she read the words. To anyone else, these writings would seem like those of a madwoman. To anyone else, the words had no meaning. To anyone else, the meanings behind those words were obsolete. But Samantha Manson was not just anyone – those words were written specifically for her and her alone. She shared them, though, to Danny and Tucker. It gave her great comfort to know that they would stay by her side.

She had felt it the first day she met them. They shared a unique bond that only three friends who had known one another a long time could have. But she _hadn't _known them for that long just a short time. Perhaps it was the soul mate principle her grandmother spoke about once.

"When two people meet," her grandmother had said one dreary afternoon when they lived in Chicago, "and they have an undeniable connection, they are soul mates. Soul mates are not romantic in the least although it is not unheard of. That idea was created by humans, silly creatures.

"Everyone has more than one soul mate. They come into our lives when we need them most, to help or to hurt us. It all depends on the actions each individual makes. Friends may become enemies and enemies may become friends. You can see who is slipping into a for and who may become a friend.

"Samantha, your soul mates are out there in the world. They are waiting for you. You will change their lives simply by being with them."

She remembered questioning the old woman on that statement, and her response came tiredly.

"It is written in the stars."

Samantha had never thought much on that conversation until now. She never believed it either. But is it possibly...? Could they be...? Maybe.

"So, all of our answers are in this book." Tucker said, fingering the yellowed pages. His brow crinkled. "I thought all of the Soothsayers died out."

Sam turned pages, stopping at a family tree that was scrawled in. ("Well, that's incredibly convenient." Tucker said, earning a punch from Sam.) It was neat and very long, going on for several pages. As time seemed to pass, each line of Soothsayers ended as member died in gruesome ways. She ignored most of those until only one line of survivors were left, which eventually split back into two. And there and the end was a very familiar name: Daniel Fenton. She showed it to the boys.

"Freaky." Danny said.

"You're, like, the last living heir of all of the Soothsayers in the world!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Jazz is in there, too, see?" Danny pointed to his sister's name.

"But she doesn't have any powers." Sam said. "And there's another name. Vladimir Masters. Know him?"

"The name sounds familiar." Danny said. "But I can't place a face. I'll ask my dad, maybe he knows him."

"I wonder if he has any powers." Tucker hummed. "Maybe he could train you."

Sam shook her head.

"There are two types." she said, flipping back through the book. She stopped at a page and nodded. "A Soothsayer can generally see into the future. That's the normal, standard type. And then there's Danny's type with weird, freaky powers."

"Ghost-like powers." Tucker muttered. They looked at him confused. "Think about it. Intangibility, flight, invisibility. That's standard ghost."

"Plus the ability to control objects, like he Box Ghost did." Danny added.

"I wonder if you can control anything."

"Like what, ghost fighting equipment?"

"No." Sam said, "Although, I'd like raid the basement. Do you think your parents would mind?"

"Probably not." Danny said. "In fact, they might get excited that I'm finally taking an interest in their job."

"I still think it's weird that your parents work for the government."

"And our world is normal?"

"Good point."

* * *

The three teens spent the rest of their summer reading _Soothsayers over the Centuries_ and Sam's guidebook. And whenever they could, they visited Sam's grandmother, who had yet to wake from her coma.

The doctors weren't quite sure why that was, and none could think of a way to explain it to the Goth girl – who frightened them a little. The nurses were kind, though, and generally left the teens to be alone with the old woman after the first couple of visits. The three meant no harm to her and just wanted to see her awaken peacefully.

But summer vacation came to an end, as it always does, and school started. It was a hot day but it was dry, thankfully. Sam did not think that she could sit in a muggy room on the first day of school. The sticky, warmth would only make her anxious and want to leave – a normal feeling for anyone attending a new school or just school in general. She was thankful that she had already made some friends.

They decided to walk to school that morning – mostly because Jazz refused to drive them. There was a boy that she was undoubtedly trying to impress and bringing your younger brother and his friends to school just shouted "loser." (At least, that's what Danny told them Jazz said. Sam had her doubts that the redhead used those words, but Danny persisted.)

"Such a beautiful morning." Tucker signed, stretching. "Too bad it's wasted. Think of what we could do. Swimming, hiking, biking... Oh! We could go for a jog."

"That's exercise. You don't like exercise." Danny said. Tucker shrugged.

"Still, it feels wrong to waste this day in a classroom."

"Well, we have P.E. first, so that'll be exciting." Sam said.

"But it's the first day of school." Tucker interjected. "We never do anything the first _week_."

"Well that's no fun."

"Here's to hoping we don't die."

They entered the school grounds and Sam looked about. There were people everywhere, talking amongst one another and laughing. She had never had the opportunity to do that in school – not for a long time, at least. She'd always been shoved out of a circle of friends once they realized she couldn't really hang out with them on a regular basis. Fighting ghosts was a full-time job, and it certainly wasn't an easy one. Perhaps now that she had Danny and Tucker by her side, she could seem more normal…

The two boys led her indoors, where the hallways were crowded with students anxious to tell others about their summers. A few students were making their way to their classes, waving farewell to someone every now and again.

The gymnasium was slowly filling up. There were only three teachers, sitting near different sections in front of the open bleachers. Large cardboard signs with the teachers' names hung from the backs of their chairs. Sam could read each clearly from the door: Tetslaff, Michaels, and Schneewiess.

Sam, Danny, and Tucker headed towards Mr. Michaels, whose sign was decorated with dinosaur and Barbie stickers, as well as colorful swirls of crayon and markers and glitter glue. They sat down near the front, not wanting to climb past some of the rougher teens in their class. They had five more minutes until the bell would ring, so they decided to compare schedules, to see if they could meet up in between and during classes.

"On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you two have some time to talk between second and third period, while I have to jet from the third floor to the first floor." Tucker said. "We'll see each other again in math. Thank you, Sam, for taking an independent study course. You make the rest of us seem like idiots."

"I'm good at math," Sam said with a shrug.

"Then we have homeroom and lunch together. And the final two periods, you two spend together."

"Doesn't sound that difficult to remember." Danny said.

"Danny, you forget where you left your clean underwear. How do you think you'll remember what class you have?"

"Program it into your phone." Sam said. "On most calendars now, you can select what days you have something going on and at what times. It's easy. I did that yesterday. See, I even have what room number I'm supposed to be in."

"Good idea." Danny said. "I'll do it in class. We're not doing anything anyway."

"What are our Tuesdays and Thursdays like this semester?"

"You two spend first period together and I am alone. Again." Tucker said. "Then you split up for an hour and we all join back here. You two go off again and we meet back up for homeroom. Lunch happens, blah, blah, blah. We stick together sixth period and then we go our separate ways for seventh."

The bell rung and their teacher drew their attention.

"Okay, class, I'm going to call for attendance. When you hear your name, say 'here.'" Mr. Michaels said. One by one, students answered to their names, with the occasional 'present' or 'what' from someone for laughs. Their teacher ignored it. "Good, everyone except Leonard is here. Now, this gym class is individual sports. We will go bowling –"

"Yes!" Tucker and a few others hissed.

"– but that's later in the semester. We'll be going to the Amity Bowling Alley. It's $25 total for the entire month and there'll be a permission form for your parents to sign. Later this week, I'll be asking for lock combinations and assigning you lockers. Who doesn't have a lock that was assigned by this district?"

Only Sam raised her hand.

"We'll order one for you." Mr. Michaels said, nodding. "When I assign you a locker, you'll be able to go put your things in it. That'll be on Friday, so remember your locks and your gym suits. You guys know the rules and how we discipline you, so I won't go over that. For my sophomores, you'll notice that these gym classes are mixed with the juniors and the seniors. Your freshmen year was not like that, correct?"

He received a couple of replies.

"We feel that you're old enough and responsible enough to handle being around the 'big kids.' And I'm assuming most of you haven't taken Driver's Ed. yet. Most of you will either take it next semester or first semester next year. Good luck with that." He glanced at the clock. "You have forty-five minutes left of class. You may walk around but stay in the gym."

A few students got up with their friends and meandered to another class, once their teacher was done talking. Danny, Sam, and Tucker stayed in their spot.

"Miss Manson, correct?" Mr. Michaels asked, sitting down in his chair. The sign on the back swaying a little at the movement

"Er, yes." she answered.

"You have a gym suit, correct?"

"Yeah. I got one during registration."

"Good. If you ever need to rent one for whatever reason, Ms. Tetslaff has some spares in her office – they're washed every day – and it's fifty cents per top and bottom. You rent it from her and show your school I.D. and she'll hand you a suit. Keep a pair of running shoes in your locker, boots scuff up the floor too much."

"Okay." Sam said, looking down at her biker boots and then back up to him.

"How are you enjoying Amity so far?" he asked, his stern face relaxing.

"It's good."

"Danny and Tucker are good kids, if a bit lazy."

"Hey!" the boys chorused, frowning.

"You two barely passed the president's physical fitness test."

"Ah, but we passed." Tucker reminded him.

"You had help."

"Excuses, excuses." Danny said.

"So, how've you boys been?"

"Pretty good. Great, now that we have a new member to the posse." Tucker said, nodding towards Sam.

"'Posse?' Oh _heck_ no, we are not a _posse_. A group, sure. A trio, even better. But a _posse_? No way, Foley." Sam said, adding a teasing glare.

"You keep them in line, Miss Manson." Mr. Michaels said. "It'll do the boys some good."

"We are right here, you know." Danny said.

"I know. I'm just choosing to ignore you."

"Who decorated your sign?" Sam asked after a beat.

"My daughter, Lily." Mr. Michaels answered. "She's very creative. She prefers dinosaurs to Barbie but her mom still tries."

"I liked dinosaurs more than Barbie's and I turned out okay."

"Right." Tucker said, stretching the 'i.'

"Watch it, Foley. I know where you sleep at night."

"No you don't."

"I can get Danny or Jazz to tell me."

"Dude, would you ever betray me like that?"

"She's scary," Danny said with a shrug. "Plus she's stronger than we are. I'd rather not have a broken arm, thank you."

"Traitor."

Mr. Michaels and Sam chuckled. This was going to be a great way to start out the morning.

* * *

The rest of the day passed along swimmingly.

Sam found that she liked each of her teachers, and they in turn liked her. Lunch came and went, and she spent quite a bit of it eating her salad – from the salad bar, a rarity at a lot of schools – and reading her guidebook. She chose to read about Reapers that day.

"_Reapers_," the book said, "_are the only beings to ever truly strike any sort of fear in the hearts of Necromancers. They are not easily found and are rarely seen by anyone other than a Necromancer; however a few choose to be educators to the populace._

"_Traditionally, they would wear white and other fair colors on their persons. They appear human but they are far from being so. Many are older, mostly men, and emanate a golden glow not unlike a witch's._

"_Death, himself, leads them. He gifted them with the ability to give or take life as they see fit…_"

With only two periods left in the day before the trio headed back to the Manson Mansion, Sam relaxed and enjoyed her final hours in the school.

Her and Danny's Intro. to Shakespeare class was held in the auditorium, as was the film studies class and the theater class – both of which already passed.

She made a mental note that the Valerie girl was in this class, too. They apparently shared a similar schedule. They practically had every other hour together. Not that Sam particularly minded; Valerie had apologized to Sam earlier that morning in their Algebra class. They both were in the independent course.

"But this doesn't mean we're friends." Valerie told her. Sam agreed. They shook hands and decided that the two of them were on neutral ground. They really had nothing against one another, other than their cliques being in two different groups. Besides, Valerie had taken the initiative and spoken about the two of them getting off on the wrong foot. Who wants to spend a whole semester sitting next to someone they detest?

Anyway, Valerie joined Sam and Danny in the seats while they waited for their teacher to arrive. Mr. Hubbert was a kindly faced man and greeted each student he had with a handshake before moving up onto the stage and taking off his button-up shirt to reveal a T-shirt with "Get thee to a nunnery!" on it. This earned a good couple of chuckles from his students.

"Good afternoon to you all." he said, waving has hands dramatically over his head. "I hope your summer was pleasant and merry."

"Merry, good sir!" someone called out. "Merry!"

It turned out to be one of the kids in the theater geeks. He received a couple of laughs from his peers.

"And didst thou have a summer romance?" the teacher asked, waggling his eyes.

"Alas," the student cried, "no maid who is as fair as the summer days caught mine eye and drove me to the madness that Orlando and Romeo fell."

"What tragedy!" another student said. "Cousin, speak! Say more about the summer with no beloved."

"Okay, okay, guys." the teacher laughed. "Settle down. We got a little carried away. Now, who's not here?"

"I'm not!" the theater geek said.

"What tragedy!" he friend replied.

"Let me do roll call." Mr. Hubbert said. He started calling out names. It was only when Danny's name was called did Sam tune back in.

"Fenton, Daniel…"

"Here."

"Fenton, Jasmine…"

"Here!"

Danny and Sam twisted around to see the redhead perched on her seat near the theater geeks. She wagged her fingers at them.

"This is going to be a long semester." Danny mumbled, sinking into his chair.

* * *

When they were finally released, Danny and Sam, followed by Valerie and Jazz, headed to the second story for their last class of the day. The redhead waved goodbye and headed up to the highest floor, where she would be ending her school day.

"You should have seen your face." Sam laughed as they walked to their room.

"Shut up. You would look like that, too, if you found out your sister was in the same class as you." Danny grumbled.

"Ah, but therein lies the problem, I don't _have_ a sister. How about you, Valerie? Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child. It's just me and my dad." Valerie said.

"You guys know what I mean." Danny said, rolling his eyes.

"Still, the class seems fun. It's sort of relaxing." Sam said.

"It's also easy to pass. It's the reason half of the It crowd is in it." Valerie said.

"I've been meaning to ask you, did you ditch them for us or something? Why weren't you sitting with them."

"They kicked me out." Valerie said. "My dad lost his job recently. Somebody broke into the lab and caused this mess that he couldn't fix. He got fired over it. We can't pay for most of our things anymore. I had to get rid of my cellphone yesterday... If you don't have money, you're out of the It crowd."

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us." Danny said.

"Uh, guys?" Sam asked. "Why's Journalism in the _library_?"

"It's how Lancer teaches the class." Danny said. "And it's the only spot available to us."

"We'll be using the computers in here to do our work because yearbook takes over the main computer lab during this time." Valerie explained. "Besides, if we need to do a quick check for a fact from a book or something, we're right here. How'd you two get in to the paper?"

"Photography." Danny said.

"Recommendation from the New York City Police Force." Sam said. "Don't ask. It's better if you don't know all of the details."

Sam had helped the officers fill out the forms more than once, making up fine details that she remembered from the spot she'd broke into, burned down, trashed or whatever. She'd had to call Donald Clark during her meeting with the counselor to get the recommendation, and he'd been all too happy to help, hearing that she was trying to get involved with school activities. She had promised to call him back to tell him how things were going, but a lot had happened since then. She swore to herself to do it tonight, while she did her homework.

Danny and Valerie led her to a room near the back of the library's second story and walked right in. Sam followed them in and saw her teacher for the first time. Perhaps she's ate something bad at lunch or perhaps the influence her lunchtime reading still hung over her head, but the man was _glowing_. And he was wearing fair colors. Only one species in the entire world can pull of that look.

_Reaper._

The word flashed through her mind. What had her grandmother told her when she saw a Reaper? _Run_.

And she did.

* * *

**What's this? Lancer is a Reaper?! Curiousness…**

**So, I'm back to cliffhangers. Fun.**

**I had to make a map of Casper High just so I would know where everything was. So, not only do I have a working schedule for Sam, Danny, Tucker, Valerie, Jazz, Paulina, Dash, Kwan, and Star but I have a list of every teacher working in the school, what the teach, and where. Call me a little obsessed at the moment, but I honestly had to. I couldn't think of an easier way but to see things visually. I might eventually post the map on my deviantArt but for the moment, it's for my own personal use.**

**So, Valerie's father was fired before Danny ever got involved. I'm not sure why I wrote it like that, I just did. Go with it. When I was editing, I noticed I put in there that Valerie doesn't really want to be friends with them and Sam agreed, but since that period they've bonded a little and found that they like being around one another. Plus, this chapter is told from Sam's POV, so she really didn't know about Val's situation until later (which I added in when editing).**

**Mr. Michaels is inspired by a Gym teacher I had back in high school. He was pretty relaxed and funny. He never made me play softball, so I liked him for that. Mr. Hubbert is inspired by my current Shakespeare teacher. He's super quirky and a lot of fun. A lot of the teachers in the school are reminiscent of those I have and had in the past. Except Lancer, who's actually going to be a lot more badass in this than in the show. Let's face it, the man was pretty awesome – he knows a lot of book titles! (And he's more than likely read all of them.)**

**In case anyone's wondering, they started school on a Wednesday.**

**I don't know if I'll have something ready for Monday but I'll try to put out something for you guys. I really will. I hadn't really expected to post this chapter today but I was too amped up from the performance that I just had to, like I said earlier. **

**Anyway, I have to go play with my puppy before bedtime. I'm hoping to make her so tired my dad won't have to walk her tonight.**

**Well, thank you to all of you beautiful readers. There are so many of you out there, really there are. I promise that I will continue to write this for you, so that you will have something to read should you ever be bored in school. **

**Lots of love, iOc.**


	8. Misperceptions

**...Never write something while watching **_**6teen**_**. It's a great show but... The things it can do to you mind while watching... (shudder)**

**Also, **_**never**_** open tabs when perusing TVTropes. I just spent three hours on there doing **_**nothing**_**. I love that place, I do (it spurs random ideas) but it's so distracting!**

**Sorry that I didn't update yesterday. I had a paper to write, an act in **_**Henry IV, Part 1 **_**to read, and a test to take, not to mention my evening class. It was a lot to do. It doesn't sound like it but when you wake up around noon on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays it is. Plus I didn't really have this chapter done until today because I didn't really know what to write. **

**Okay, I'll talk about a few things after the chapter, in particular Mr. Lancer. Interesting case, he is.**

**For those of you who like this, check out some of my other works. **_**CAFÉ EVANS**_** and **_**FINDING HOME**_** are a little series.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 8**

**Misperceptions**

"_**The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,  
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."  
William Shakespeare, **_**Julius Caesar**_**, 1.2.140-141**_

"She just ran off?" Tucker asked, gaping at Danny, who nodded. The two met up in front of the school after classes ended. Danny _would_ have gone after Sam, but the bell had rung and Mr. Lancer had closed the door.

"Do you have any idea why?" the dark-haired youth said.

"Sam's doesn't semm like the kind of person who ditches a class without a good reason. There must have been something she saw before she entered the classroom."

"You don't think she saw a ghost and got kidnapped by it, do you?"

"Although it's highly unlikely, I wouldn't cross it off our list of possibilities. Since that ghost portal got turned on, ghosts haven't been the standard issue. They're different. A ghost kidnapping Sam wouldn't surprise me. Although, she would have put up a pretty good fight."

"So... should we go look for her?"

"Why don't we go check out the library?" Tucker suggested. "Maybe she left a secret message or something for us."

They headed back to the library and did a quick look around. There wasn't any secret message from Sam, nor was there any evidence that she had been kidnapped, much to Danny's disappointment.

"Are you boys looking for something?"

Both Danny and Tucker jumped, not expecting to see Mr. Lancer standing there. The two instantly relaxed.

"Hey, Mr. Lancer." Tucker said. "How was your summer? Cook up any new... _spells_?"

"Potions, Mr. Foley, not spells. And no."

"Wait. What?" Danny asked.

"Dude, Mr. Lancer is a Wiccan, a male Witch. You know, they cast spells and stuff." Tucker explained. "Witches are more into healing and stuff, while Wiccans are more into battle magic. But, really, they could learn either one."

"I thought a Wiccan was those wannabe Witches who worshiped nature or something like that."

"In the Old English, Wicca was used to describe a Necromancer and then later a male Witch. It was adopted later by a human, Gerald Gardener, in 1954 to describe his work. That's how in came in to human use."

"Why would he do that?" Danny asked.

"He was English."

"...That explains nothing." Tucker said slowly. "The English are hardworking industrious people. They also discovered a great way to eat fish and french-fries."

"And yet so many madmen have come from England."

"Mr. Lancer, you have ancestors from England. I do too. Heck, even Tuck has a few, a long time back." Danny said.

"Please don't remind me." Tucker grumbled.

"What did they do?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"Worked as slavetraders."

"Slavery is a very important part of American history, Mr. Foley. It would do you some good to brush up on it."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Now, can either of you explain _why_ Miss Manson missed class today and _why_ Mr. Fenton has a strange new glow?"

* * *

Mr. Lancer drove them to the Manson Mansion. He openly gaped at how massive the building was. Someone could _live _there?

Danny and Tucker unbuckled and got out of the car, grabbing their schoolbags. The weight of them already heavy with homework.

"Are you sure she's home?" the teacher asked.

"Either here or the hospital." Tucker said, walking up to the front door. He pushed the doorbell button and listened as it echoed inside. The maid, Kat or Kate or whatever, answered.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked, her face showing no recognition or betraying any emotion.

"Er, is Sam home?" he said.

"The Miss is upstairs. She came home in quite the hurry. Did something happen?"

"No," Danny said, "she just left."

"Perhaps she had enough school for one day." the maid suggested.

"May we come in?" Mr. Lancer asked politely. The maid looked him up and down.

"And you would be...?"

"Mr. Lancer. I teach several English classes at Casper High. Mr. Fenton, Mr. Foley, and Miss Manson are some of my students. If you would be so kind as to let us in, we would appreciate it."

"And what do you want with the Miss?"

"I simply want to know why she left before my class this afternoon."

Danny and Tucker watched the exchange. The maid was tightlipped and did not like Mr. Lancer, by the sound of her tense voice. Her body posture was straight, not relaxed as it had been when she spoke to the teens. Mr. Lancer kept a relaxed posture and smiled kindly; if he saw how his fellow conversationalist was, he didn't show it.

Danny decided to break the tension.

"We really just want to see if Sam is okay." he said, pleading.

The maid looked at them, frowning. With a sigh, she opened the door to allow them to enter.

"She's in her bedroom."

That was all they needed to hear. The boys dashed up the stairs and to the familiar setting, Mr. Lancer right behind them. They found Sam crouched in a corner on her room. She looked up, startled, when they entered. Her violet eyes were wide and frightened.

"Sam!" Danny cried, seeing how disheveled she appeared. He crouched down by her side. "What happened? Why'd you leave school like that? What's wrong?"

She didn't answer, she just pointed at Mr. Lancer. Her arm trembled.

"What about Mr. Lancer?" he asked softly.

"Reaper." she managed to say through her quivering.

"He's not a Reaper. He's a Wiccan." Tucker said, holding up his hand in a true Boy Scout salute. "He's a friendly, promise. He knows that you're a Necro. I told him. I should have warned you, sorry."

Sam looked down, still trembling. She stood up.

"You," she said, raising her head to look at Tucker, "are _so_ dead! Just wait until I get my hands on you Foley!"

* * *

After things between Tucker and Sam settled down, they went to the library, and Sam asked for the maid to bring refreshments up to them. They mostly talked about what Sam missed in class, which wasn't very much, but Mr. Lancer had papers for her and things for her to fill out and sign.

"I've never met a Wiccan before." she admitted, nibbling on an Oreo and looking over one of the papers. "My bubeleh knew a few in the city, and they would come over sometimes, but I'd usually be out patrolling or at school or something. I'm sorry that I ran out on class today. It won't happen again, swear."

"It's nothing to worry about." the teacher said with a smile. "Mr. Foley had the same reaction last year. Although, I'm surprised Mr. Fenton hasn't noticed until now."

"Danny's still learning to control his powers." Tucker said, watching as his friend tried to snatch a cookie and failing. Multiple times.

"I hate intangibility." Danny mumbled into his arm, glaring at the traitorous appendage.

"Perhaps," Mr. Lancer said, "some training is in order."

"You could train him?" Sam asked, surprised. Traditionally, training was only done by family members (i.e., Sam's grandmother, Tucker's mother, etc.), however it was not that uncommon to have someone being trained by another person unrelated to them. She had met an Alchemist and a Necromancer in Chicago who were being trained by a family friend of theirs'; he had taken them in when their parents died. That was not unheard of, either. The number of Reapers were on the rise, after all.

"Of course I can. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother, Miss Manson, but I am sure she would want you to continue your training."

"What training?" Tucker asked. "The only thing she was ever really taught was how to be a Necromancer, look out for an Alchemist, and to fear Reapers. I've had more training than she's had."

"It's not bubeleh's fault." Sam said defensively.

"Settle down." Mr. Lancer chided. "You're not children. All three of you have more responsibility than any of your classmates – although many of them could _be_ as great as you three are."

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.

"Every student who has ever passed through the hall of Casper High are not normal. Amity Park is a cesspool for all things weird and abnormal, after all. Most don't break out of the chains that bind them to being human. Only a few, like you three, ever become bigger than you could have ever hoped."

"You mean anyone, including that Paulina chick," Sam said with disgust, "could be like us? I thought that it was something genetic, something that could only be passed down from one generation to the next."

"Sometimes, like your friend Daniel, people can be made to be _supernatural_, I guess you could say. It is genetic, to some degree. Most people wouldn't survive the great shock his body had. If either of you have entered that contraption, you would have died. Paulina would have the same fate. However, if she were injected with some of the ectoplasm, as I believe it is best known, she would be transformed into something."

"Do you have any idea what?" Tucker asked, looking interested now.

"No. Each person is different. If one were to look at their family trees, they would notice that all the races intermingle at some point in time. Say, perhaps, that people of two different races married one another, like a Necromancer and a Soothsayer. One of their children might take on the trait of one parent, another would take on the trait of the other, and the last could take on both. Most times, these traits stay hidden for several generations until the trait is jump-started.

"I'm sure all of you know who Abraham Lincoln is, correct?" Mr. Lancer continued. All three nodded. "He was the child of a Necromancer and a Soothsayer. His sister, Sarah, lived for a long time but she never showed any signs of having any powers. Lincoln however did. He was a Soothsayer. One of the last ones. That is, until Mr. Fenton came along."

"So, what was the whole point of that lecture?" Sam asked. Mr. Lancer sighed.

"Some people can't help what they are, others can change their fates, and some have the ability to be greater than they are. Abraham Lincoln accomplished more than what any man could have during his life. Soothsayer blood is hunted and treasured. Many knew what he was, and yet he still rose to greatness. You three are on a very difficult path. That ghost portal is going to cause problems in the future, several of your peers' will be awakened, and all three of you are going to go through some difficult training. The question is, are you three ready?"

* * *

**NerdyWriterGirl, you were correct about Lancer. I intentionally slipped that bit of information in (as I purposefully did with Soothsayers for Danny – which took a bit longer but still), expect the warlock part. I decided to go more old school and call male Witches, Wiccans. Why? Because I did a crap load of research. Seriously, go look at Crystalinks "Wicca" page. **

**(To Wiccans out there: Take no offence, as everyone else should know that this is just work of fiction, entertainment, for you to enjoy. If anyone **_**does**_** take offense, please let me know and we can talk about it. I'm a pretty understanding person.)**

**While there really is no fact the Lincoln could see into the future, I believe he could. Some people are capable of seeing a short glimpse of what is to come (having had a few myself). It's all about activating that part of your brain while you sleep.**

**Something everyone should know, I put in bits and pieces of important information about characters, places, and other such nonsense is never there by mistake. I like to make my readers **_**think**_**. Not because I'm mean (although, I am), but because literature is a form of entertainment that is supposed to make you think. Not like movies, where you can watch them brainlessly. **

**Speaking of brainless activity… I have a Twitter and a Facebook. ;D (I'm going to keep reminding people, so get used to it.) News about updates will usually be posted on both. My Twitter also is where I post some funny things, pictures of food, my random thoughts… Pretty much anything because it's right there on my phone, easy access. My Facebook, as I've said before, is the quickest way to contact me. I'm on several times a day and I generally check out all notices before doing anything else. Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook. (I will not get a MySpace! …Maybe a Xanga. Is Xanga still cool?) Dear lord, social media.**

**Oh! Don't forget, my poll is still up for the rest of the month. After that, I may start working on a collection of one-shots that go along with this story. It's mostly things that are mentioned but never explained in full because I didn't want to at that time. If you haven't voted yet, do so!**

**Because I'm bored, I baked an apple pie for everyone who reviews! Everyone likes apple pie. Unless you're allergic, then I made peach and pumpkin for you. Cyber pie!**

**Thank you to everyone so far. Your support is beautiful. Lots of love to you all.**

**I'm extremely ADHD today. Wow. And I thought my teacher having a mattress delivered to our classroom was weird. (Yes, he really did have a mattress delivered to our classroom. We were going to ride it down the stairs but then we found out it was for his kid's bed. So, we drew a giraffe on it instead. :D)**

**My life is a series of interesting events. One hilarious things always follows another. Especially for my dog. Who smells like Play-Dough because she was groomed yesterday for the first time in almost three months. She looks like a poodle now. It's really funny.**

**…This dragged on longer than I wanted…**


	9. Thermos

**I think it should be known that sort of this was written while I was a little buzzed. I **_**am**_** twenty-two, so I'm not doing anything stupid. It was also at a kid's birthday party. Alcohol was needed. Blargh. And while everyone was eating cake and ice cream, the birthday girl and I were eating pita chips. (She had an upset stomach and I'm lactose intolerant. I also have never been a big fan of cake.)**

**Cool fact, my aunt went to school with the older brother of one of this season's contestants on **_**Face Off**_**. She also goes to church with his mother. Apparently he's in the final three. And, another friend of the family went to school with another competitor. Go, Kris! Go, Anthony!**

**Another cool fact, I know someone who went to school with Melissa McCarthy. She was apparently a Goth as a teenager. A very perky Goth...**

**Yeah, I hang out with a pretty nifty group of people.**

**Anyway, to **samansonreplica**, don't worry I'm not offended by your question. In fact, I'm more than happy to answer it. No, I am not a Witch, Necromancer, Soothsayer, Alchemist or any other race mentioned in this story. The reason I know so much about the supernatural is because I've over ten years learning about this stuff. I've always been interested in magic and the like, ever since I was a little kid. I have a love of it and a love of writing, combining the two is what comes natural to me. I am glad to hear that you, too, believe that people can see into the future (as weird as it seems to many people out there). I'm glad you asked and I would like to let everyone out there know that I never feel threatened by other's curious natures. If you ever want to know something, please do ask. I will undoubtedly respond to your inquiry. **

**I don't know if anyone noticed, but on my profile there is a list of interesting things about me. I got bored one afternoon and I made it.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 9**

**Thermos**

"_**You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room." Dr. Seuss**_

Training started that afternoon, mostly with Danny. They occupied Mr. Lancer's classroom and a part of the gym when that season's sports team left. Sam helped, mostly by being the unwilling target. Who knew he could shoot beams out of his hands and fingers... and his left toe?

Danny also learned how to use his Mind's Eye, which would be very useful in the future. He took the time to study the glows of the gym's other occupants.

Sam's was a swirl of purple and pink. It was pleasing to look at, and it was comforting despite her harsh Goth appearence. He wondered if it had to do with her being a Necromancer and him being surged with ectoplasmic energy.

Tucker's glow was brown and green. It reminded him of the earth. There were streaks of dark and light gray that would shimmer in and out at various points. His glow wasn't as comforting as Sam's but it was peaceful.

Mr. Lancer's glow was white and gold, with spinning fizzles of amber splashes. It was exciting to watch and Danny found himself wondering why the teacher wasn't as exciting.

Danny wondered what his own glow looked like. He wanted to ask but he didn't know how to go about it. He didn't want to make a fool of himself by outright asking – it might be considered inappropriate. Was a person's glow a very personal thing? He really wished he had a guidebook like Tucker and Sam did.

When they finally took a break, Danny collapsed on the floor by the wrestling mats. He didn't dare touch the things; they reeked of dirt and sweat, and they were undoubtedly carrying some sort of disease.

Sam sat down next to him, offering a cool water bottle dripping with condensation. He took it and drank greedily from the plastic container. Both teens were grateful for the rest. He could feel his sweat cool his body and form a tacky layer that made his shirt stick to his skin.

"Hey, Sam?" he said.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"My glow..."

"What about it?"

"Can you tell me... What does it look like?"

She blinked at him before bursting out laughing. Mr. Lancer and Tucker glanced at them, curious as to why they were suddenly making noise.

"You didn't have to laugh." Danny muttered bitterly when she started to calm down.

"You want to know what your glow looks like? _Hi_-larious." she said, wiping away a tear. "What, you can't see yours?"

"No."

She frowned. He watched as she blinked, her curious violet eyes glowing slightly. She tilted her head off to the side, her frown growing bigger.

"Your glow is very weak. Kind of like your dead. It's faint but it's there. It's sort of green and gray, from what I can see. Kind of creepy looking."

"Thanks...?" Danny said, unsure of how to answer. "So, I'm creepy looking."

"It sort of fits. Ghosts are the only beings that can truly predict the future. Soothsayers are somewhere between the living and the dead. They die for five minutes before coming back to life, carrying some sort of ectoplasimic energy with them. Most of the time, Soothsayers who were created were Necromancers. Necromancers, Alchemists, Soothsayers, and Witches were one race at one point. At least, that's what it said in my book."

"Weird."

"I know."

"Are you two lovebirds done flirting?" Tucker called to them.

"We're not lovebirds!" Danny and Sam chorused. They snuck a peek at one another and turned away, blushing. They had training to get back to.

* * *

Danny hissed as he eased himself into a warm bath. He could already feel the bruises forming. Training had been harsh, especially going up against Sam. She was a tough fighter and obviously knew what she was doing. He found himself growing more envious of her.

A knock on the door startled him. It was Jazz.

"You okay, Danny?" she asked through the door.

"Fine." he said.

"You came home looking a little stiff. Not to mention late. What were you doing?"

"Sam was showing Tucker and me some self-defense techniques."

"She knows some self-defense?"

"She _did_ live in the city." Danny said, rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright." Jazz said. She paused before continuing. "Do you want some ice? It's supposed to help the muscles or something."

"I'm good. Thanks, Jazz."

"Okay. G'night, Danny."

"Night, Jazz."

Danny listened as she walked to her room, and he sighed when her door clicked shut. He rested in the warm water for another ten minutes before draining the bathtub and taking a cold shower. Jazz said ice helped muscles, so why would cold water be any different? The shower didn't last long, he got too cold too quickly.

He came out, shivering, and he quickly dressed in warm pajamas. He checked his computer to see if Tucker or Sam was on. Neither of them was. He looked at his math homework, which was almost done thanks to Mr. Lancer, who wrote everything down while Danny sparred with Sam. It had been interesting, getting him to multitask while fending off the friendly assault.

"It'll help you in future battles." Mr. Lancer had said. "We'll continue doing thus everyday until you are able to do not only both but several other things as well."

Danny wondered how much one person can do while fighting. Women, he knew, could multitask very easily. Something about more connections in their brain or somewhere along those lines. Men were capable of focusing on one task and completing it sufficiently. At least, that's how it was _supposed _to be, he thought.

He quickly polished off the three problems he had left and then reviewed his other work. He didn't have much right now. He would have more work closer to the end of the semester and midterms. He wondered if Mr. Lancer was going to be a bit more lenient with him, knowing his secret. He hoped so.

A knock on the door, interrupted his thoughts. It was his dad.

"Hey, Danny boy, how was school?" Jack asked.

"Fine. I like all of my teachers this year." the teenager replied.

"Want to see what your mother and I have been working on?"

"Er..." Danny watched as his dad pulled out a thermos.

"This," Jack said, "is the Fenton Thermos. It catches ghosts and it holds them. Pretty neat, right?"

"Yeah, pretty cool."

Jack snapped to face one corner and he pushed a button. They waited for it to do something. It beeped but didn't do anything else. The man signed and set it down on Danny's desk, frowning down at it. He was clearly disappointed.

"Another failed project."

Danny picked it up, inspecting it.

"Maybe it's like the portal." he said, offering it to the man. Jack took it, thinking about what his son said. "It probably just needs a jumpstart."

Jack nodded and turned to leave.

"Goodnight, dad."

"G'night, Danny."

Danny watched as his father dejectedly closed the door and left. He sighed and continued on with his schoolwork for another forty-five minutes.

Yawning, he set his homework aside and climbed into bed. He slept for some time when he jerked awake. He looked around wildly, trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn't until he felt the mist float out of his mouth that he realized what was happening.

"Hello?" he called. No response. "I know you're there."

Again, he received no response. He slid out from under the blankets and looked around. He didn't _see_ anything, but he most certainly _felt_ something. He closed his eyes and focused on the negative energy that ghosts naturally gave off.

He learned that was Sam earlier. Ghosts were barriers of extremely negative energy. Necromancers had extremely positive energy. Naturally, ghosts were attracted to Necromancers. Soothsayers, being somewhere between life and death, carried a more negative energy than humans or any other beings and thus could feel the repelling negative energy of ghosts.

He felt the ghost to his left, outside of his bedroom window. At least he _thought _is was outside his window. It faded into existence in his room, startling him.

"Hello, dearie." the ghost said. She looked like a rather stereotypical lunch lady – only with red eyes and green skin. She was on the borderline of terrifying and just plain freaky looking.

"Hello." Danny said cautiously. She smiled kindly at him.

"Do you know the girl who doesn't eat food on the school's lunch menu?"

"You mean Sam?"

The ghost's smile turned malicious, showing of shark-like teeth that hadn't been there seconds before.

"Sam." she said, fading away.

"Oh crap." Danny said. What should he do first? Warn Sam!

He dove for his phone and quickly hit the six. The line rang a few times before she answered.

"Hello?" Sam said groggily.

"Sam! Um..."" Danny paused, trying to think of what to say. "I might have accidentally sent a ghost to you."

"...What. Danny, it's, like, three in the dealing morning. I can't deal with a ghost right now."

"I'm sorry, okay. I'll be over in a couple minutes. Hopefully with something that can help."

"Fine." Sam muttered hanging up.

Danny quickly dressed in the previous day's clothes, looking around for anything that could possibly help them catch a ghost. Had his parents ever invented anything that could hold one?

The thermos!

He quickly snuck downstairs and looked around. No one was up. He could hear his father snoring above him. His mother was sound asleep next to him, no doubt. Jazz was undoubtedly in R.E.M. sleep by thus time, as he should have been. He was a growing boy after all and the loss of sleep could stunt his growth! Sam was lucky she was his friend; the only other person he would do this for was Tucker. Plus, they were both like him, not human. This new world was rather exciting.

Danny slunk into the basement, looking around for the thermos. He found it on one of the counters, looking innocent and altogether incapable of holding ghosts. Maybe this one wouldn't attack him like his parents' inventions did.

He grabbed it and listened for any movement upstairs. He heard Jazz call out to him.

_Invisible,_ he pleaded with his powers. _Invisible, invisible, invisible. Turn me invisible. I can't be caught by Jazz._

He disappeared just as Jazz stepped off the last step of the stairs. He held his breath as she looked around, confusion written on her features. She had clearly been expecting him to be down here.

"Please don't be involved with a gang." he heard her mumble.

Why would he be involved with a gang? Who would _want_ to be involved with a gang in the first place? All of those initiation tests he'd seen in the movies always ended with the new kid in jail and ending up in trouble with their parents. Weren't they also involved in drugs and stuff?

Actually, he really had no idea what gangs did all day. Did they go to school? Probably not. Danny might not have been the perfect student, but he was usually in the top fifteen in each of his classes, a little over halfway. He tried hard and that was all that mattered to him and his parents.

Jazz was just being Jazz, an overprotective busybody who liked to stick her nose into everything she thought was immoral. Not that Danny blamed her, she was worried and that was the way she had been raised. Their father was usually in the hospital for some kind of burn treatment, their mother was usually wrapped up in their father's shenanigans, and Danny was an annoying younger sibling most times. She had to be the responsible one.

He sighed, turning visible again. Sneaking out would be a lot harder if Jazz was awake. What could he do? Fly through the house invisible?

"Anything's possible." he said. He closed his eyes and focused on changing, which happened much quicker this time around. He then turned himself invisible once more. Now how did he fly last time? He wasn't really sure about that one, but when he opened his eyes he was outside and floating above the Emergency Ops. Center.

Smiling, he flew off in the direction of Sam's family mansion. When he arrived, Tucker was outside whispering up to Sam. She must have called him while he tried to think of a way out of his house.

"Need a lift?" he asked, scooping up his friend. Danny wasn't sure what to expect when he picked Tucker up, but he certainly did not count on his friend weighing as much as he did. Thankfully, the flight upwards did not take long. Danny landed on Sam's floor, depositing his friend, puffing for a decent breath.

"What's wrong with you?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude," Danny huffed, "you need to lay off the double cheeseburgers with bacon for a while."

"Sorry." Tucker said. "I didn't think you'd have to carry me up."

"I was just about to throw down my house key to him." Sam said. Danny noted that she was still in her pajamas, unlike him and Tucker. He tried his hardest not to stare. She broke him of his thoughts when she started speaking again. "So, why did you call? Something about a ghost?"

"Yeah, this ghost woke me up." Danny said, sitting cross-legged on the plush carpeting. "She wanted to know who the girl was who didn't eat off the normal lunch menu."

"…That was it? _Seriously_? You woke us up for _that_? Danny, I'm going to be cranky tomorrow and it's going to be all your fault."

"So this ghost," Tucker said, "what did she look like?"

"I don't know, a lunch lady?"

"A deceased lunch lady hunted you down to ask you that? You seriously have problems."

"Well, just in case she comes, I brought this." Danny said, holding out the thermos.

"Soup? You brought us _soup_ to fend off the _dead lunch lady_?" Sam said, not amused. "How the _hell_ is soup supposed to defend us from a crazy dead lady?"

"It's called the Fenton Thermos. My parents just invented it. It's supposed to catch and hold ghosts."

"It could be useful." Tucker said, taking it from his friend. "Does it work?"

"My dad tried it earlier before I went to bed. I think it needs to be charged or something."

"Is the power button turned on?" Sam asked. "We don't want another portal incident."

"Was it really that bad?" Danny asked.

"I nearly wet myself when I remembered we didn't unplug the machine." Tucker admitted. "Neither of you are to share that with anyone outside this room, got it?"

The other two nodded, holding back a laugh or two.

"So, what do you want to do?" Danny asked. "Obviously, we got here before the ghost did."

"I don't know," Sam said. "Hang out?"

* * *

None of them lasted long. In fact none of them realized they had fallen asleep until Sam's blaring alarm woke them up. Danny's mind and heart raced, thinking it was the fire alarm rather that the clock. He cursed and willed his heart to slow down.

"Sorry," Sam grumbled. "I can't wake up to anything else. A ghost once threw me out of a window in Chicago. I didn't even realize until I woke up in the street and a truck honked at me. You have no idea how scary that is. Not to mention I had to fend it off in ridiculously skimpy clothing. What? It was a really hot night and the air conditioner broke earlier that day."

"What time is it?" Tucker asked, rubbing his eyes.

"A little after six."

"Crap! Jazz wakes up around now." Danny said, looking around with a panicked expression. "I forgot she heard me sneaking around last night. She's going to think I was with a gang all of this time."

"Why the hell would _you_ join a gang?" Sam asked. "What gang would want you?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sam."

"You're welcome."

"But what am I going to do? She checked on me last night, I know she did. She saw my bed with me not in it…"

"Just say you decided to sleep under your bed last night."

"Not going to work." Tucker said. "Have you ever seen how messy his room is?"

"That's so if a burglar ever breaks in, they die trying to get to me. See? My logic doesn't fail me there."

"But what if there's a fire and you're trapped?" Sam asked.

"Duh, intangibility? I don't think fire can hurt something that's intangible."

"It's no use trying to argue with him now, Sam." Tucker said. "After a wakeup call like that, his mind is freaky alert. It's like he's had 500 cups of coffee or something. I don't know, I'm still tired so I have no idea what I'm talking about. Ignore me."

"Well then…"

The stood around, looking tired and confused. Sam cleared her throat.

"I need to get ready." she said.

"We better leave then." Danny said. "Come on, Tuck, I'll sneak you in."

* * *

Danny yawned throughout most of the second day of school. He happily counted the final minutes left of the day before he could go home and take a nap. His dreams were foiled when Mr. Lancer reminded him that he, Sam, and Tucker needed to stay after for some "tutoring."

"It won't be that bad." Sam said. "Besides, you need it more than anyone else. Actually, Tucker probably needs it more than you, but you're that abnormal Soothsayer, the fighting type. Your training is the most important."

"What about your training?" Danny asked quietly as Mr. Lancer was going on about what needed to be covered for the month's upcoming _Casper Enquirer_, the school paper. Sam had volunteered to write a welcome back to school article before class even started. Danny hadn't offered to take any work yet, but he supposed that he should very soon.

"Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer said, "please do not disrupt my class. You are the only one who hasn't agreed to take anything yet. We need some photos of this Friday's game. Do you think you can do that?"

"Of course, Mr. Lancer." Danny replied. Photos of the game? No sweat. The photographer for the school paper always had one of the easiest jobs. Plus, it helped that his parents had really good cameras that were capable of capturing things in motion very easily.

"Good. Remember, we have tutoring after school. Remind Mr. Foley of that, would you?"

"Why do you need to be tutored?" Valerie asked when Mr. Lancer went back to prattling off about something or another.

"Danny's terrible at writing." Sam said. "I offered to help him and Tucker get better. Mr. Lancer's really just around to make sure what I'm teaching them is relevant to what they have to do."

Danny was again fascinated by how easily Sam lied. It certainly was an art form that she had perfected over the years. And she always did it so convincingly. Her body language was faultless, her eyes never shifted in the wrong direction, she maintained the proper amount of eye contact. He found himself once again wondering how she did it.

The bell rung. Danny knew the real work was about to begin.

* * *

**Whew, most of this was written in one night. I've been procrastinating this week far too much for my liking. My workload is much easier, though, at the moment so I'm hoping to stay ahead. All I really have to do is read two acts of **_**Henry IV, Part 1**_** by tomorrow and take a quiz. Easy.**

**I thought about pushing the upload date to a later day in the week and then I remembered that there are only seven days in a week and there is just as much time to procrastinate as ever. (-.-) Not happy about that revelation. My updates will still place on Mondays, for those who are worried. I promise, I'll be consistent as always.**

**For those who are interested in reading some webcomics, check of **_**Gallows Humor**_**, **_**Strays**_**, and**_** Namesake**_**. All three are wonderful. **_**Gallows**_** isn't updated as often as the artist would like but she has a marvelous job in the publishing business as an illustrator, so one can't blame her. **_**Strays **_**is updated every Friday (rarely later, and they always announce if they're going to be late). **_**Namesake**_** I started reading on Friday evening and finished sometime on Saturday. **_**Wizard of Oz**_** lovers are going to go crazy over it. If you'd like a link to one and you can't find it, let me know. I will kindly point you in the right direction.**

**For those who didn't notice, the chapter is **_**just**_** over 3000 words. I met my mark again and it makes me happy. I'm really trying to keep it there, with only a few chapters so far falling below it. Here's to keeping a good thing going!**

**My poll closed a few days late, but the votes are in. The **_**DNC**_** collection of one-shots will be written! I do have a small list of ideas so far. I'm not taking any requests at the moment, but sometime in the future I will. That will be sporadically updated, as some things I have planned I can't do anything about them until later on in the story. (I have some order to it already, lawl.)**

**Thank you once again to all of my readers and reviewers. You are all very lovely little creatures. :-***


	10. Misfortunate

**21 March 2013 Edit: Originally, when I had posted this, I didn't have this great idea. However, after browsing through the NaNoWriMo forums, I came across the challenge for something. I wanted to add it in somewhere but I wasn't sure where to put it because it would be a great subplot for what I intend to happen. I couldn't really work it in anywhere else, so I rewrote this chapter. I would like to see if anyone can figure it out.**

**So, yeah.**

**I deleted to "Attention" note that I posted earlier this week and opted to remind people that I won't be posting again until April first for Camp NaNo. If anyone is interested, there's a group of us on the forums who are forming a cabin tomorrow (22 March 2013). If you want to join, we have some room left. There are a few people you may recognize. Take a peek, is all I can say. ;)**

* * *

**So I started to read the first book of the**_** Katerina **_**trilogy, **_**The Gathering Storm**_**. I found it hilarious that the main character is a necromancer and that she has a book on necromancy, **_**Necromancer's Companion**_**. I had a good chuckle. It's a good book, for those who are curious. Another good trilogy is the **_**Darkest Powers **_**trilogy. Again, the main character is a necromancer. Lastly, the **_**Mediator **_**series is worth a read. It's by the same author who wrote the Princess Diaries series.**

**All three of those are wonderful and better written than some of those out there. I haven't figured where I'll post it yet, but we'll see soon enough.**

**Time is passing quickly in this chapter because I felt that we were stuck in one week for far too long. And by time passing quickly, I mean a month and then a weekend. I felt like this story was dragging a bit, so I had to do it. I'm a little mad at myself for it, too. Hopefully it flows right…**

**This chapter is also short because I've been so pressed for time this week. Midterms and whatnot. Originally, I was supposed to take two of my midterms on Thursday, but my Shakespeare teacher decided to give us a take home test (which I used the internet for) and my Editing teacher decided to give it to us tomorrow. (sigh) I really need for them to stick to the schedule so I can write at normal hours and not the day before the next chapter's supposed to be up!**

**21 March 2013 Edit: It's a lot longer now and it hits my 3000 word mark.**

**Ah well. But there's some good news! For those of you who go to Anime Central (ACen), I will be attending again! I think this is my fifth year. I'll be dressed as the Painted Doll from **_**The Devil's Carnival**_**, great film by the way. Emilie Autumn plays her, a woman who I have adored since her days as a fairy. There's a thing in Chicago this week for **_**Repo! The Genetic Opera**_** and **_**The Devil's Carnival**_**, along with the "Fight like a Girl" premier. Sadly, I will not be amongst those attending. I won't have a vehicle to drive into the city. Hopefully, she posts a link to the video later that night. (crosses fingers)**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 10**

**Misfortunate**

_**I rolled my eyes. "He's talking to himself. My vote is he's crazy."He thought about this. "Maybe he's normal and we're the crazy ones. Maybe everyone should talk to themselves. Maybe we're all just afraid of what we'd say."Katie Kacvinsky, **_**Awaken**

Sam stretched backwards, feeling the kinks in her back tighten and then relax. It had been a long week. She, Danny, and Tucker had spent the past month training with Mr. Lancer. They started working on things other than Danny's control over his powers not too long ago. Tucker had proven his usefulness by breaking them into the gym last night – Coach Telstaff had the football team outside and had them airing out the locker rooms by the field, which was just as horrible as it sounded.

Her grandmother's condition hadn't changed in the past month. She was perturbed by this. Was there something seriously wrong? What if the woman just died in her sleep and no one knew until she started decomposing? Sam shuddered at that thought. It was best to remain positive and keep the outward appearance of being a normal teenage girl at the moment.

It was hard, however, because for the last few nights there had been a ceaseless tapping somewhere in the house. She head it for around an hour, searched the mansion, and could not find the cause. Sam tried to focus on the negative energy of a possible ghost, but she found none — not even a trace of the lunch lady ghost Danny had seen the month prior. (They had yet to sense her.) She decided it was probably something in the walls.

Being sleep-deprived did not help ones constitution or mind. Sam swore she saw a ghost numerous times but she didn't get that same feeling she always got. Besides, Danny's "ghost sense" hadn't gone off at any of those times. She decided that she was seeing things.

Sighing, she looked around the room. Most of the girls were already done dressing and locking their things up. Valerie was amongst them, although she seemed a bit out of it. Pale, too. Sam wondered what was wrong. She had noticed it earlier that morning but they hadn't really gotten the chance to talk.

Grabbing her things, she moved down the aisle. Valerie didn't even look up when Sam stopped right next to her.

"Hey." Sam said, catching her attention.

"Hey." Valerie returned. She sounded tired.

"You okay?"

Valerie shrugged, picking up her books. She started towards the doors leading out into the gym, where everyone waited for the bell to ring. Sam followed her, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling in her stomach. It was the same feeling she got whenever a ghost was near or whenever a big storm was coming. Something bad was going to happen.

Sam looked about, trying to spot Danny or Tucker, but both were still in the changing room. Valerie was leaning against the wall. Something was most definitely wrong with her.

In a blink, Sam examined her with her Mind's Eye. Something was off with her glow. True, she had never really looked at Val's before, but it definitely didn't look human. Was she changing into something? Mr. Lancer _had_ said that everyone at Casper High had the ability to become more than they were, so did that mean Valerie was amongst those numbers?

"Duh, Sam." she muttered to herself. "Of _course_ she is. Now to figure out what…"

Slowly, she made her way to Valerie, taking a spot next to her by the wall.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked, brows crinkling.

"Honestly?" Valerie asked. "No, I'm not okay. I feel sick, you know? But not like the flu or a cold or anything. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Do you want to go to the nurse?"

"I probably should go. But I don't want to miss class. Being in school is the only thing that's helping me and my dad. He'll be so upset if something goes wrong."

"I think he'll be more worried if you're sick and forcing yourself to be here instead of in bed. You can make up the lessons later, you're smart and capable. C'mon, I'll help you there."

If one would have said to Sam that she would have a female friend (albeit keeping a dark secret from her) last year, she would have laughed in your face. Now, Sam could think of nothing else than helping a fellow human being amble down the school hallways to the nurse's station. It wasn't a far walk and they were almost stopped by several teachers, but upon seeing Valerie's complexion they made no move to hinder the girls.

The bell rang and students poured out of the classrooms. Valerie stopped, holding her head.

"My head's spinning." she said. "I need to sit down."

"We're almost there." Sam told her, looking back and forth between Valerie and the open door. She could call out to the medical personal inside and get some help quite easily, but Sam thought nothing along those lines. She was more determined to keep her friend upright.

Valerie's feet dragged. Her toe caught on a section of uneven flooring and she was down. Sam knelt and tried to shake her awake.

"Val?" she called. "Val? Valerie?"

She received no response. She looked around for help. A student heading towards the councilor's office saw them.

"Get the nurse." Sam said to the girl, who nodded and rushed to the open door.

The nurse poked her head out and saw Valerie on the ground. She trotted over and felt the unconscious girl's pulse.

"What happened?" the nurse asked.

"She wasn't feeling good," Sam said, "so I told her to go to you, to see if she could lie down or something. She said her head started spinning, we walked maybe two, three steps and she collapsed. Is she going to be okay?"

"Go to class." was all Sam was told. "I'll take care of her from here on out. You can stop by my office later to check on her."

Sam was about to protest, when the nurse held up a hand. She didn't want to hear anything the student had to say.

"Where should I put her books?" Sam asked.

"Just put them on my desk and then leave. She'll be fine. I promise."

Sighing, Sam did as she was told. And she hated every second of it.

* * *

Danny and Tucker looked up at Sam when she sat down by them for lunch. She set her stuff down and collapsed on the table, praying for sleep.

"What's up?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, we heard Val fainted in the hallway." Danny said. "What happened?"

"She wasn't feeling good." Sam said, looking past them and at the wall.

"She didn't look too good during P.E. Do you think the flu's coming around early this year?"

"It could be a late summer bug that she caught." Tucker told them.

"Or it could be something else entirely." Sam said, sitting up. "Did you look at her glow?"

"No, what's up with it?"

"It's not right. Something's… off."

"Do you think she could be, you know," Tucker looked around nervously, before whispering, "_changing_."

"What? Like a werewolf? _Are_ there any werewolf genes in Amity?"

"Not that kind of changing. And, no. There are no werewolves in Amity Park. As far as I know, at least."

"I knew what you meant." Sam said, allowing her head to lull to one side. She was awfully tired all of a sudden. It was probably all the worrying the past couple of classes.

"Still, something could be wrong with her." Tucker said. "Is she still in school?"

"She was picked up by an ambulance over an hour ago." Danny said, chewing his sandwich nervously. "Someone sitting next to me was talking about it last period. Do you think she'll be okay?"

"She should be. Let's not worry about it at the moment. We have training tonight again, don't forget and you'll both need clear minds for that."

"How come you don't have to do any physical activities?"

"Alchemists are fighters." Sam said. "They never really needed to know. Hey, Tuck, you might be the first Alchemist to hold their own against a ghost."

"Har har har."

"You sound like a pirate." Danny chuckled. He looked at Sam and noticed her lack of food. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I've been too nervous to worry about eating. Besides, I'm not that hungry."

"Have my salad. I was going to try it with the raspberry vinaigrette that you like. You take it. This sandwich will probably be enough to fill me up until I can get dinner tonight. Do you think Lancer will keep us long?"

"Probably, it's not a Friday." Sam said, taking the offered salad. "Tomorrow we are covering another game. Dash really liked that picture last month. Do you think you can keep it up?"

"Maybe." Danny said with a shrug. "If Dash liked the picture, why's he still beating me up?"

"He probably doesn't know that you took it. You could accidentally let it slip when he's walking past."

"Nope, Dash'll never change the way he does things." Tucker said. "He has an actual schedule of when and where he does things to geeks and nerds and Danny."

"Glad to see I'm in my own category." Danny mumbled.

"It could be worse." Sam said. "You could be a band geek."

"What's wrong with band geeks?"

"Please, have you _seen_ Casper High's band uniforms? They look like candy canes prancing around the field. It's kind of nauseating to watch. Like a children's' production of _The Nutcracker_, a total disaster."

"You have a lot of childhood angst, don't you?"

"You try waking up and seeing a dead person floating in front of you this morning."

"Wait, what?" Danny said.

"Yeah, some little old lady died last night and she came to me for help. I have to go do something for her family tonight. You guys are more than welcome to join me. I could use a pair of hands to dig up something buried in a forest somewhere nearby."

"There are _nice_ ghosts? How come I haven't met any _nice_ ghosts yet?"

"You're a Soothsayer. And one who fights ghosts, on top of that. Why would they go to you for help when there is a nice, little Necromancer with a glow that's like a freaking lighthouse beacon nearby?"

"Good point."

"So…" Tucker said. "Training tonight. It should be fun, right?"

* * *

Training was not fun. Sore and exhausted, Sam collapsed on her bed. For several minutes she just lied there, wondering whether or not she would be able to take a shower. She bit her lip and breathed in the scent of her clean sheets. She didn't want to soil them any more than she already had.

Groaning, she sat up and gathered the things she needed for her shower. She washed herself quickly and relaxed her tense muscles under the scorching volley of droplets. The heat eased the stiffness she felt.

When the water started to turn cool, she turned the dial and dried herself off. She looked around for her pajamas and remembered she left them on her bed. Cursing her luck, she exited her bathroom.

The air in her room felt unnaturally cool. Her flesh puckered. Ghost, was her first thought.

"Sam?" a familiar voice said.

Danny faded into existence by her window. Both of them yelped, and he turned away, covering his eyes. He mumbled an incoherent apology.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I… I'm doing rounds." he said to the corner he was facing.

"Rounds?"

"You know, going around town and checking for ghosts and other mischief?"

"You're really getting into the superhero thing, aren't you?"

"I'm not trying to be a superhero."

Sam rolled her eyes, grabbing her pajamas and heading back to her bathroom. She closed the door and quickly changed. When she returned, Danny was fingering the quilt on her bed nervously.

"You're like Peter Parker." Sam said, sitting next to him. "He was a nerd who was bitten by a spider and he gained superpowers. You are an average kid whose parents happen to be ghost hunters, and you got caught in a powerful shock and ectoplasm. Besides, you both have Chronic Hero Syndrome."

"You're making that up."

"What? Chronic Hero Syndrome?"

"No, the connection between me and Peter Parker."

Sam laughed and shoved him lightly. He returned the gesture with his own push. The two sat contently next to one another for several moments before the silence between them was interrupted by a knock on Sam's door.

"What?" Sam called.

"Can I come in?" a voice asked. It was her mother.

Sam looked at Danny, who vanished easily. The training was really working.

She padded over to the door and opened it.

Pamela Manson stood there, nervously twisting her fingers. She jumped at the sudden light and the appearance of her daughter.

"Do you need something?" Sam asked neutrally. Things between them had been less hostile since they moved to Amity. She thought it was because she was out and about with her friends more than anything.

"I…" Pamela started to say, but she stopped herself. "How are things at school? You keeping busy?"

"Yeah. I joined a martial arts group with Danny and Tucker not too long ago. It's a great workout and it keeps me out of trouble, you know?"

"I'm really proud that you haven't been making any mischief, Sammy."

Sam shrugged.

"I heard that a girl fainted in school today." Pamela said. She raised her brows when Sam's disposition changed. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah. Valerie Gray. We have a couple of classes together. Why?"

"On the news… They said she'd been injecting herself with something."

Sam frowned. She thought it over. She didn't remember Valerie having any marks on her arms, but then again she never really paid a whole lot of attention. That, and it had gotten cooler out fairly quickly, and everyone was wearing jackets and their winter uniforms for gym.

"Val's not the type to do drugs." Sam said. "She might be depressed, yeah, but after what she's been through, who wouldn't? Besides, she can't afford them. Her and her dad have some trouble just paying for rent."

"I don't know, Sam. There are other ways to get drugs."

"If you're going to tell me not to hang out with her I'm not going to listen."

Pamela sighed.

"Fine, just… be smart. I worry, you know I do."

"Promise."

Her mother nodded and started to turn away, then she stopped.

"You're still wearing the necklace." she said, noting the simple trinket she had given the girl over a month ago.

Sam looked down. She had hardly ever taken it off. She had gotten used to it being there.

"Yeah." She muttered, running her fingers through her hair.

"It looks good." Pamela smiled and whished her goodnight. Sam in turn, wished her the same, closing the door.

"You heard all of that?" Sam said to the seemingly empty room. The only reason she knew Danny was still there was the temperature.

"Yeah." Danny said, reappearing. "Do you really think Val's been doing drugs?"

"No. I think she's been injecting herself with something else."

"Or someone's injecting her with something."

"Right."

Sam moved to her computer and turned it on. She quickly typed up an email and sent it to Mr. Lancer and Tucker, hoping they thought the same. While she waited for their replies, she sent an text to Valerie, hoping for a response. She got none.

"Tuck agrees," Danny said, reading the email. "Mr. Lancer hasn't checked yet. He probably already went to bed."

"No doubt. It is after ten." Sam said, noting the time on her wall clock. "Don't you have a curfew to uphold?"

"It's just me and Jazz. Mom and dad are out of town for the weekend."

"Sounds like fun. What did you tell Jazz you were doing?"

"Hanging out with you and Tuck. I probably should go now. You were getting ready for bed, yeah?"

"I was going to watch some _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_, but I'm pretty exhausted. Lancer worked us hard again. Not to mention that we had to cover the game. You did get some pictures, right?"

"…Right."

"You were taking pictures of Paulina, weren't you?"

"Maybe."

Sam laughed and hit him over the head with one of her pillows.

"Danny's got a little crush."

"It's an infatuation. Like the one Romeo had on Juliet."

"God, I hate that play. I can't believe it's the first one we had to read."

"It could be worse." Danny said.

"How?"

"We could be reading _Macbeth_ this semester."

Sam groaned and fell back on her bed.

"Please don't remind me. Why did I take Shakespeare again?"

"It sounded like an interesting class. If you want, I can get Jazz's help."

"No thanks." Sam said, sitting up. "Speaking of, how is Jazz? I haven't seen her in a while."

"She's… fine. I think."

"You _think_?"

"She's been having a lot of nightmares. I don't think she knows that I know but I hear her through the walls sometimes."

"You should check on her sometime, make sure she's okay. Soothsayer blood and all that. We don't want to ignore the Cassandra Truth."

"'Cassandra Truth'?"

"The reality that no one believes."

"Like ghosts."

"Yeah, except, I think the people in Amity are starting to believe. We've had, what, four attacks this past month?"

"All of them that Box Ghost. He's really starting to get on my nerves."

"Any sign of that lunch lady?"

"None."

"Great, so we have one vengeful ghost unaccounted for."

"Call me if she shows up?"

"Will do." Sam said.

"Goodnight, _Sammy_."

"Shut it, _Danielle_."

"Oi, no girl names!"

"Leave before I banish you to oblivion, foul ghost-thing."

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving."

Sam chuckled and watched as he disappeared. She looked at her Alfred Hitchcock DVDs and shook her head. There was no way she'd be able to sit through one when she was worrying about Danny doing rounds and Val in the hospital.

Double checking her phone, she sighed, turned off her lights, and snuggled under her covers. Sleep would help make the time pass quicker and she would feel better with some more sleep.

* * *

Sam was not able to get more sleep. The tapping was back. She woke up just before midnight, barely getting an hour in, and it started.

She groaned, flipping over, and tossing a pillow over her head. She'd never get any sleep with that damn noise.

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

Pause

_Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap._

Pause.

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap._

Pause.

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

Pause.

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap…_

Sam sat up. It sounded like Morse code. Was someone trying to tell her something?

She bit her lip and listened again, wishing she understood the message. She'd have to go to the library or something to get a book on the subject. Or she could look it up on the internet.

Grabbing her phone, she recorded the sound. She let the message repeat for several minutes.

An hour passed and silence took over the mansion again. Far off, in the distance, Sam could hear a train on the tracks. Should she try to translate it now? Yes, she should.

She quickly Googled "morse code" and found a key to help her understand what she was listening to. After another hour of being awake, all her results let her to was a jumble of numbers.

1, 2, 5, 2, 2, 1, 0, 9, 1, 9,1 5, 1, 6, 9. Then there was always a good pause there before it continued. 1, 4, 5, 8, 1, 6, 1, 2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 1, 6. Another long pause. 1, 5, 2, 0. Pause. 5, 1, 3, 1, 5, 2, 3, 9.

There it would stop for a minute before picking up again.

Too tired to figure out anything else, Sam went back to bed and hoped to hear from Valerie in the morning.

* * *

Come Monday morning, Sam still had not heard anything about Valerie. No one was talking about her at school, she received no text messages or phone calls, no emails were sent to her. Not to mention the tapping continued. It was starting to get a little unnerving.

But upon entering first period, Sam saw that she could get all of her answers. She quickly changed before approaching Valerie, who was leaving the restroom.

"Hey." Sam said, giving a little wave. Since when did she wave? It must have been something she picked up from hanging around the boys too much. That was why she hung around with Valerie, to get a female's opinion on something every now and again.

"Hey." Valerie said, smiling.

"You feeling better?"

"A lot better."

"So, what happened?"

"A very slow allergic reaction to something I ate Thursday morning."

Sam nodded. It was clearly a lie, but their classmates who were listening in would believe it. They weren't the brighten bunch around and it did sound fairly plausible. No doubt Danny and Tucker would believe it too if they were there. (Which, knowing Danny's powers, he's tried more than once already.) She let Valerie's lie pass.

"So, you ready for this week?"

"I have to take it easy for a couple of days, but I should be ready for anything by the end of the week."

"Okay."

"Hey, how about you, me, and the guys go to Nasty Burger later?"

"I'll have to see. They still have tutoring with Lancer tonight. I can see if we can put it off. We don't have any paperwork due this month, beyond the school paper, so I don't think there'll be a problem."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Lancer won't mind. C'mon, we've got class."

Sam blinked, looking Valerie over with her Mind's Eye like she had that day last week. Val's glow _did_ change. Dramatically. It was no longer the healthy human glow she was used to. In fact, it was very similar to a certain English teacher's…

* * *

"Valerie's not human." Sam said to Mr. Lancer when she walked into his class that afternoon. He looked at her, a bit startled, checking to see if anyone overheard.

"What do you mean?" he asked in the same hushed tone that she had originally spoken in.

"I mean, look at her glow. It's different. I think that there's far too much ectoplasm in Amity Park and it's starting to mutate the students."

"Ectoplasm doesn't mutate, Miss Manson."

"Whatever the heck it did to Danny, I think it did to Val."

"There is nothing I can do to fix it."

"Well, we could… keep an eye on her." Sam said. "She wants to hang out this afternoon. I think it'll do her some good, especially if she's changing into… whatever the heck she's going to be."

"And what do you think she'll be?"

"A Witch."

Mr. Lancer pressed his lips together. He nodded after a moment, giving his consent. They would have the evening away from training and get to be _normal_ teenagers for once. Sam felt little butterflies in her stomach. What _did_ normal teenagers do? Go to the movies or something?

"Miss Manson, be sure to keep me updated."

* * *

**21 March 2013 Edit: Valerie a drug user? Hm…**

**Ah, Morse Code. It was a pain to type out all the scrapes and taps, but very important. If you can figure out my code, I'll give you a little sneak peak at the next chapter. ;D**

**I actually spent some time thinking about it. I didn't want to make it **_**too**_** difficult but difficult enough that it would take Sam some time to figure it out. It's not as easy as it looks. I am a terribly clever person.**

**Also, I have my first fanart! Squee! Ahem. It's for **_**CE**_**, but it was posted by the lovely whattup'penguin. It's of four of my Ocs (Soul's family), so I'm pretty excited about it. Especially since **_**FH**_** is just about done. One more chapter left. Le gasp! What shall happen to Soul and Maka? Will they get together? Will I create a sequel to it for my readers to find out? Inevitably, yes. Because I'm mean. :-P**

**Ah, y'all should be ready for what I have planned for **_**DNC**_**. A lot of shockers coming up. Next chapter is a big. One. Valerie's POV. I'll do a few more chapters with her narration and I want to do some for Jazz as well (one is partially written and it deals with something very important).**

* * *

**A few things, I was a band geek in high school and I had a lot of fun. During marching season, I was in the color guard (flag spinners) and the rest of my senior year I played the flute. Sam's jab at band geeks is really to be funny, not to offend anyone.**

**Valerie's fainting was due to ectoplasm being in her system. How did it get there? Well, anyone who watched the original series will have a good guess. Whether or not this guess is something I haven't quite decided on yet. It really could go a bunch of different ways. Hm. Time to start plotting this new subplot I didn't see coming.**

**Today is Worship of Tools Day. Which means hammers, staple guns, saws… Pretty much the stuff in my dad's garage that I haven't touched in over ten years. Also, today is Douglas Adam's 61 birthday. Happy birthday, Mr. Adams! For those who don't know who he is, he wrote **_**The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy**_**. Later this week is Pi Day, so celebrate by eating pies! Wow, that's a great day.**

**21 March 2013 Edit: Today is multiple things. Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Down Syndrome Day, Fragrance Day, and Poetry Day. All are fun and very good causes.**

**I have to go prepare for tonight's class now, so I'll leave you all to your wild mass guesses.**

**Much love to everyone out there who read this past week. There are so many of you. Lots of love from my little desk. ;-***


	11. Toss

**CAMP NANOWRIMO HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED! :D**

**I'm super excited. I've spent most of the day writing, mostly because I wanted to get a good start for this month. Long, grueling hours of writing to complete this. It'll be fun.**

**My cabin is full of amazing mates and, well, I think a lot of people will be very jealous of who they are. They are so lovely and we work so well with helping one another. The other cabin is just as amazing. Hopefully we'll all be able to meet our goals for April.**

**You guys can still get involved for the July session of camp, if you want to do the full month. I don't know if anyone else in our two cabins will be doing it again, but I know that I'm planning to.**

**So, after a couple of weeks of break, I managed to finish this chapter on Easter. XD I'm such a terrible procrastinator. I normally get all my writing done on Saturday but um… brain… no… function… right. Now with camp, I'll be writing everyday. But don't expect quicker updates. I'll still be updating on Mondays only.**

**To Haiju: I know that I said I would troll this chapter but my brain hurt too much to write it. So, I wrote a little oneshot instead. Forgive me? …Or, you know, hide my jelly beans from me. XD**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 11**

**Toss**

"_**When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout." Herman Wouk**_

Valerie sighed, happy to be spending time with some friends in a comfortable setting. She had spent the weekend in the hospital, and truth be told, she barely remembered the past couple of weeks that had sent her there.

She trailed her fingers over the scars from needle injections. She didn't _remember_ that and that was the scary part. Had she been taken advantage of? The doctors hadn't found anything unusual in her system, which was good and bad. They had no idea what was wrong with her. They ended up blaming it on premenstrual stress syndrome.

She snorted at that thought. It was _ridiculous_. Who faints because of PMS? Apparently a few dozen or so cases every month, according to the doctor.

Valerie felt much better now than she did last week, and so when she found out she could return to school and work, she rejoiced. She spent most of her first day back just relishing in the fact that she was surrounded by normal teenagers. And there were three very normal teenagers she would love to spend more time with: Danny Fenton, Tucker Foley, and Sam Manson.

Sure they were a bit — okay, a _lot _— dorky but they were always themselves when around one another. They made her feel welcome, despite their pasts. She hadn't always been the nicest person to them but they let her join their little circle.

The three of them waited for her in front of the school before starting off in the direction of the Nasty Burger. Valerie didn't quite understand the teenage notion to eat at fast food places, but she could understand the appeal of being seen as social and popular amongst one's peers.

Sam had entered Danny and Tucker's world so easily, it was as if she had always belonged with them. Valerie felt as if she was intruding on them, but today's exploit wasn't about fitting in with them. It was about just relaxing and being a part of society and seen doing normal things. She needed it. Badly.

"Hi," she said tentatively.

"Hey." Tucker greeted, adding a wide smile.

Sam smiled and nodded, and Danny waved.

"You ready to go?" Sam asked, picking up her bag and books. She had set them down while they waited. She had a lot today, Valerie noted.

"Let's go." Danny said, leading them off the school grounds. "I have to be home by six for dinner."

The three others followed soundlessly.

Valerie listened to the chatter of the other students around them. They were all excited to be out of school for the day. She knew that their moods would soon be dampened by the realization of the waiting homework. She, too, had a lot of work to do, including that paper for English Lit.

Sighing, she tried to relax her shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she was so tense. When he father lost his job? When she had applied at places and failed? When she had to suck it up and get the grunt work at Nasty Burger?

She furrowed her brows. Why was she going to go hang out at her work? To be normal. Her version of normality was undoubtedly different from Danny, Sam, and Tucker's. Her normality involved going to concerts every weekend, having money to buy new clothes, hanging out at the mall every day. Their normality… She really didn't have the vaguest idea. Did they hangout and do homework? Talk about dressing up and going to conventions? Some other nerdy thing? She was curious to find out.

She looked at her companions and noted that Sam seemed to be carrying more books than usual. A few, it appeared, to be from the school library. She tried to catch the title but could only make out "Morse." Morse what? She thought about everything she knew that could be about Morse but was coming up with blanks. She finally decided to ask.

"What are you reading?" she said to Sam.

"Hm, oh. _Morse Code: The Essential Language_ by L. Peter Carron, Jr." Sam said, reading the title. "And _Lightening Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F. B. Morse _by Kenneth Silverman."

"Huh."

Valerie tried to think why Sam would be reading up on Morse Code but could find no reason for the girl to be doing so. She didn't think the Goth had any extra classes but then again, she was always staying after school to help Danny and Tucker with writing — although how much more help they needed, she really had no idea.

"Why Morse Code?" she asked.

"Something my bubeleh said a few days before she went into a coma." Sam said. "I don't remember what it was exactly but something about coming up with codes."

Valerie nodded, falling back into silence. She knew about Sam's grandmother, as everyone in the school did. No one said anything, mostly to not feel the undoubtable wrath of the Goth but also out of respect. That was one thing about Amity Park teens, they held some respect for one another's private lives. Most of them did, anyway. Paulina was most likely to gossip than anyone else.

When they arrived at Nasty Burger, the place was quickly filling up. The four teens picked a table far enough away from the It crowd and close to the soda fountain and cashiers. The place offered free refills on drinks and fries, why not take advantage of it?

"Tuck and I will get the food." Sam said. "Was there anything you particularly wanted, Val?"

"Just a mighty meaty meal." she replied. With an afterthought, she added, "Extra sauce. I'll get my own drink. I like to mix up the sodas."

Sam nodded, following Tucker's retreating form.

Danny and Valerie kept to the table, neither of them wanting to break the awkward silence. She checked to see how long the others would take to get the food, and seeing the line, she despaired a little. She would have to make conversation.

"So," she said.

"So." he replied.

They sat in silence for a second before Valerie continued.

"What do you guys normally do?" she asked.

"Goof off mostly." he said with a shrug. "And we work on homework. Hey, do you have any ideas on how to do that scene for Shakespeare? Sam and I were just going to work with Jazz but if we work with you, I won't have to deal with an overbearing, know-it-all sister."

Valerie smiled. Yes, going back to normal would be much easier than she anticipated.

"It's just _Romeo and Juliet_." she said, stifling a laugh.

"Well, it would be awkward doing the assigned scene with anyone."

"It's the infamous balcony scene, how awkward can it be?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked.

"Kind of. It would be interesting to hear."

"I'm not going to, just to spite you."

"I see hanging around Miss Manson has increased your vocabulary."

"…Teasing now, are we?"

"Someone had to. This conversation was getting a little dull."

"That's what Sam would say. Of course, Jazz would just say that it's her way of defending herself when she's uncomfortable or something."

"Speaking of Jazz and Sam… Why would it be awkward if you worked with them for Shakespeare?"

"Think about it. One person is in charge of costumes. Sam hates performing and if she did the scene, it'd be hard to look at her again after it's done. She and I can't take Shakespeare seriously when we're together. She'd have to be in charge of costumes. And Jazz is my sister. Plus if the two of them did it, it's just be weird for everyone. Especially since Sam would play Romeo. She's so short."

"So, which dwarf are you?"

"Ha ha."

"So, I make a better choice?" Valerie asked, leaning back into the seat. "Why is that?"

"No offence or anything, but we're not exactly close friends. We don't know each others deepest secrets."

"And you know some of Sam's? Even after the short time she's been here?"

"It's like we were always meant to be friends."

"Uh-huh." she said slowly.

"Anyway, since we don't know one another very well, it'll be easier to act."

"I see where you're going. So, you, me, and Sam as a group? It should work. Do you two have any idea how you want it to be portrayed yet?"

"Not yet." Danny said. "I'm leaving that to Sam. She… she has an eye for those kinds of things. She really gets into the fine details of things. Plus, she's awesome at researching things."

"Always good to have a researcher in the group." Valerie said, rolling her eyes. "So, got one thing for homework out of the way."

Sam and Tucker returned, each carrying a tray.

"Hey, move." Sam told Danny. He looked at her curiously. "I'd rather not watch Tucker inhale those… those.."

She shuddered, an unpleasant grimace twisting her face.

"Fine." he sighed, sliding out and allowing her in. "You're welcome, Princess Samantha."

"Watch it." she said. "Or I'll make you the unlucky knight to save me from the fire-breathing dragon. Not that I'll need much rescuing. I'd probably convince the dragon's sister to help me escape or something."

"Who says the fire-breathing dragon has a sister?" Tucker asked, sliding in next to Valerie.

"Who says he doesn't?"

"And why does it have to be a male dragon?"

Sam catapulted a tomato at him using her fork. She was quite precise, as the fruit landed in his open mouth. Tucker gagged it out.

"Ew! Plant!" he cried. "Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck."

Valerie watched on curiously. It was comical, no doubt. She'd never catch Dash or Kwan doing something like that over a tomato. There were only a few groups of people who didn't care what people thought of them, and these three were one of them.

She called them out on it.

"We have other things to worry about." Danny said.

"Like what?" Valerie asked.

"College." Tucker said.

"Family." Sam said.

"My parents and their crazy inventions." Danny said. "The Fenton Finder, while harmless, claims that I'm a ghost."

Sam choked on bits of lettuce from her salad, her eyebrows shot to her hairline.

"Your parents hunt ghosts, right?" Valerie said, remembering the gossip she heard from her father.

"Yeah." he replied cautiously.

"That's actually kind of cool. Maybe they could get their own TV show or something."

"Danny deserves his own TV show." Tucker said. "Parents who hunt ghosts and a sister who tries to be a psychologist. Not to mention his awesome friends. I can see it now. Yo, Danny Fenton was just fifteen when his parents built a very strange machine…"

"Don't sing." Sam said, shoving some of his fries in his mouth. "Like, ever. Your voice broke my eardrums."

Valerie laughed. She could really get used to this.

* * *

After an hour, they decided to pack it up and head to the Manson's residence to do their homework. Valerie checked her watch. She had an hour before she had to go to work — well, returning to work. She also needed time to run home and lug over her uniform. She wouldn't have any more time to hangout today.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Valerie said, adjusting the strap of her schoolbag. "I have work today."

"Work?" Danny asked, looking surprised. "You've been given permission to work? What kind of doctor does that?"

"I kind of want to. I don't like laying around all day. Besides, my dad and I need the money."

"Do you want us to walk you there?" Sam asked.

"No, it's okay. I have to go home to get my uniform first."

"Oh, okay." Tucker said. "Bye."

"Bye, Val." Danny said.

Sam smiled and waved. She and the two boys headed off back towards the busy section of town.

Valerie sighed and started towards her home, in the opposite direction. It was a lonely walk back but it felt good to be a part of a group of normal teenagers again, to be accepted.

Along the way, she could have sworn someone was following her, but every time she would go to look, no one was there. Now she wished that she had agreed to have the three walk home with her. She was relieved when she reached the apartment building.

When she opened the door, she heard her father washing the dishes in the kitchenette. The sound was comforting and reminded her of when her mother was still alive.

"Valerie, is that you?" Damon Gray called.

"Yeah." she said, kicking off her shoes and heading to her room.

"Dinner's on the stove, if you're hungry."

She looked down at her stomach, feeling guilty that she had gone out and eaten with her friends. She hadn't even paid Sam back!

Sighing, she dumped her things on the floor and looked around floor the other hideous uniform she had been given.

She picked up the wretched thing, sniffing it. Her face twisted in disgust when she realized that the previous owner of the costume hadn't washed it — and she doubted the guy before him did either.

Grimacing, she packed it back in the bag that had come with it, folding it as neatly as she could.

She checked her watch again. She had forty minutes before her shift started. She quickly changed into the standard uniform for Nasty Burger and sighed, disliking the way it hung on her.

Valerie hauled the bag out of her room and dropped it near the front door. She turned around to see her father standing there, looking forlorn.

"I wish that you didn't have to work." he said, drying his hands off on one of her mother's old, pink aprons.

"Think of it as something to add onto my college résumé." she said, giving him a tight squeeze around his middle. He returned the gesture with an embrace of his own. He held her firmly and pecked the top of her head.

"I'm sorry that I dragged you into this."

"I don't mind it." And she didn't. "As long as I'm with you, I'm happy."

* * *

Her dad dropped her off in front of Nasty Burger. She waved before quickly running to the back entrance and slipping inside. One of the employees looked back and waved at her.

"You're two minutes late." he said.

"Not really my fault." she muttered. "So, do I have to wear this today or what?"

"Tomorrow after school. Today, we need you to clean. Think you can do that?"

"Sure."

He tossed her the cleaning supplies: a bottle of watered-down bleach and a rag. He nodded towards the tables and chairs just beyond the counter. She tentatively made her way out. She silently thanked whatever god (or gods) were looking out for her. She didn't want to run in to anyone from school. She really didn't want Paulina or Star or one of them to see her working at Nasty Burger.

She started at a table that had recently been cleared of a family eating out. She wondered what ever happened to families eating in every night. Had society really come to this? Were parents incapable of cooking for their own children?

Sighing she got to her task. She had actually almost finished cleaning every table when someone said her name. Startled, she looked up.

Star and Paulina had walked in, with the rest of the football team and the cheerleading squad. They looked fairly surprised to see her. Dash was the quickest to react.

"Well, Valerie," he said, fixing is hair, "we weren't expecting to see you here so late. What, did your dad forget to pick you up or something? Oh wait, that's right, he works as a security guard now. What a lame job, am I right?"

The others whooped and cheered, shoving one another playfully. They claimed one of the just cleaned tabled, much to Valerie's disappointment. She went back to cleaning the rest and prayed that they wouldn't leave much of a mess behind.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

They left a big mess, much to Valerie' dissatisfaction. Grumbling, she cleaned it up. They had hung around for a couple of hours, much to her annoyance, spilling things most often than not and laughing obnoxiously. Really, was Dash's quip about the squirrel he almost ran over was _not_ that funny. She didn't understand why the night manager hadn't kicked them out. She guessed that it was because they had a lot of money to waste and a place to spend it in.

She still had a few hours left before Nasty Burger closed. Jeanette, a ditzy brunette employee, would be taking her home as her dad had to work late again. The few others, whose name she was still learning, were joking behind the counter. The amount of customers had vastly decreased as the night wore on, so they had time to spare.

"Hey, Valerie, you can stop for a while." one of them said, waving her over.

She joined them rather reluctantly. She didn't want to make friends with these people, exactly. They were nice but they weren't quiet and friendly and dorky like Sam, Danny, and Tucker. And after being rejected by the It crowd, she rather liked the weird group.

"We were talking about the teachers at school." Jeanette said, adjusting her ponytail. "How do you like your classes this semester?"

"I actually like my classes a lot." she said, brushing her hair behind her ears. "The teachers could be better, a few weirder than others, but they actually like their jobs."

"That's good to hear. You're, what, a sophomore?"

"Yeah."

"Sophomore year was a great one." another employee said. "I made a lot of friends that year. Can't wait until I graduate this year."

The others seemed to agree.

"And it's a year before any serious state or national tests, so you're pretty lucky." said one of the others.

Valerie just nodded and listened to them talk until a new customer came and placed their order. The man stood off, watching them all with very little interest. He seemed completely out of place in Nasty Burger, with his three piece suit, slicked back gray hair, and poise. He was obviously someone of great importance.

He made a shiver go down her back.

There was something vaguely familiar about the man, although she couldn't place where she would have met him before. Maybe he was someone her father worked with at some point. She wouldn't put it past that.

His eyes trailed over all of them as they chatted and went about their work, and eventually stopped on her. She felt a cold sweat start to form on her skin when his lips twisted upwards.

"Can I help you?" she asked, trying not to let her voice tremble.

"Yes, do you know how to get to Fenton Works from here?" he asked.

She looked rather surprised. She had been expecting him to brush the question off or to ask about his order. He just wanted directions? To the Fenton residence, of all places, too. She hoped Danny would be able to endure this startling man. His sister, too. Both teens were too nice.

"Yeah," Valerie said, grabbing a napkin and a pen. She began doodling a map, adding arrows and names of roads. "From here, you'll take a left onto Wendy Avenue and then go straight until the fourth street light, where you'll take a right on to Main Street. You'll go down two block and it'll be on your right."

"Thank you, Miss…"

"Gray. Valerie Gray. I go to school with Danny and Jazz Fenton."

"Ah, yes. Daniel and Jasmine Fenton, the children of my two dearest friends from college. Do tell me, how old are they now?"

"Jazz is seventeen and Danny is fifteen."

"So, I don't suppose they would like a doll or a teddy?"

"No." Valerie said, letting the 'o' drag a little.

He sighed.

"Do you know what they happen to like?" he asked.

"Um…" She thought about their conversations this afternoon. Danny complained about Jazz trying to psychoanalyze everything he did. But what did he like? He mentioned space camp more than once… "Jazz wants to be a psychologist and Danny really likes space."

He nodded, as Jeanette slid his take-out bag towards him. He thanked them and went on his way after filling his cup and taking a sip.

"Freakish." Jeanette muttered.

Valerie nodded, watching as he slid into his car and drove away.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

With five minutes left until close, Valerie looked around and sighed happily. The place was empty. Smiling, she got out the mopping equipment and started cleaning the floor. She was able to get through it fairly quickly and she only had to wait a few minutes before Jeanette was ready to leave.

"Valerie," the night manager said, "could you check to make sure the main doors are locked?"

"Sure," she said, hopping off from her perch on the counter. She checked all the doors and smiled when she saw they were all locked.

She felt a chill pick up in the room. She thought it was odd that she didn't hear the air conditioner start up. Maybe they had gotten it fixed?

She walked back over to the counter and quickly wrapped herself in her jacket, reveling in the warmth it held.

Jeanette appeared, letting her hair down as she walked, and stopped next to Valerie.

"Ready to go?" the brunette asked.

Valerie was about to answer when something shot past them and into the equipment behind them. She looked back at it and frowned. A kid about her age, with very blond hair and a black hazmat suit, pushed himself from the twisted plastic and metal.

"Um, ow." he said, looking up and through the two confused teens. "You know, we could settle this nicely. How about over some meatloaf from the school cafeteria? The meatloaf was always good."

Valerie and Jeanette jumped at the roar behind them

All of her training started to kick in. Valerie tensed and turned to look over her shoulder, readying her hands to defend herself. Her posture slackened when she saw a monster made of meat snarling down at them. She easily lid back into a defensive position, ready to protect herself and Jeanette if she had to.

The boy behind them dove over their head and slammed himself directly at the beast, splattering meat everywhere.

"Oh, come _on_!" Valerie cried before she could realize what she was doing. "I just cleaned this place up!"

The monster turned back to the two girls. Jeanette, always the cowardly one, ran back to the employees only section of Nasty Burger. Valerie could swear she heard the backdoor slam close.

"Nuh-uh." the kid said. "Don't pay attention to that girl, she can't fight you like I can."

She gaped at him. Was he… _floating_? Was he some super-powered freak of nature created by the government? …She actually didn't doubt it. Hanging around Tucker was starting to influence her thoughts.

She shook her head and waited for an opportune time to strike.

The floating kid could surprisingly hold his own against the monster. He was agile and had quick comebacks — almost as if he was a superhero in those cartoons she used to watch. Every punch left a good mark and was precise. Every kick left a dent. Every blast of green… energy(?) was powerful.

The monster eventually managed to pin him down, after demolishing the entire eating area and a good section of the roof. It roared with glee. She almost felt bad for the kid. Almost.

He had been a big part in the destruction of Nasty Burger property. Although she disliked her uniform and some of the work she had to do, it was still the only place she could actually get a job.

He did have some unusual powers and she was no longer doubting the fact that he may actually be a superhero — this did cause some destruction in those cartoons, from what she remembered. And if he was a villain, he was on the smaller side. She didn't doubt that she could take him down if he gave her any trouble.

Valerie looked around for something to distract the monster. She looked around, trying to find something light enough to throw but heavy enough to cause damage. The only thing she could think of was a chair as the tables were completely demolished.

She jogged over to one of the overturned seats, watching the struggle between the two combatants. She picked up the plastic seat and chucked it at the monster's back. It sailed through the air and the legs sunk into the meat-made beast.

The thing roared and turned towards her, slamming the boy down on the floor. It looked around and spotted Valerie, still poised from the toss and ready to run. An unearthly snarl reminded the teen of what she had just done and she felt a cold sweat start to form on her skin. She had never been _attacked_ by someone other than her instructor or fellow students before in her martial arts classes. What was she supposed to do?

The monster charged at her, swiping at her with its hand. She managed to dodge it by ducking and rolling to the side. It came after her again, backing her into the corner. Her hands trembled and her knees gave out. She had no way to escape.

* * *

Danny really hadn't expected the Lunch Lady ghost to appear. When his ghost sense went off he had been with Sam and Tucker, trying to decode the code Sam had been hearing. Really, he thought it was a loose screw in a heater or air conditioner or something. Who would actually try to contact Sam through More Code? He didn't have the faintest.

The Lunch Lady appeared in Sam's room and had startled them all. She had gone after the Goth, screaming something about not eating food off the typical school lunch menu. The three teens deadpanned at this statement. _That_ was what she was so upset about? _Really_?

The ghost had nabbed Sam and shot straight out of the building. Danny had transformed and went after them, leaving an unsure Tucker in their friend's room.

When he had caught up with them, they were near Nasty Burger. Sam had managed to free herself and was trying her best to hold her ground. Sometime during Danny's pursuit, the ghost had gathered all the meat from the butcher's shop and the restaurants lining the avenue and transformed into a meat… monster. He had no doubt that Sam's skin would be crawling for a couple of weeks afterwards.

He joined them in the fight, turning the tide for the pair of them.

Sometime during the fight, they found themselves in Nasty Burger. Danny wasn't sure how they ended up there but they somehow did. Without Sam's help, he was being thrown about like a rag doll, including being tossed into what he thought was the milkshake machine. That would leave a good bruise.

He made note that while one girl had fled the scene, Valerie was still inside. He had to make sure that she stayed out of the fight.

He did his best to avoid the Lunch Lady's grasp again, using his small frame to his advantage. It was the first time in his life that he was thankful for the tough training from Mr. Lancer and the tough love from Sam, his most difficult opponent.

He ended up getting trapped, despite his trying to avoid capture. The ghost was able to pin him down and hold him there for sometime. It was one of the few times he was glad that someone else was there. He wasn't sure what Valerie did, but it got the ghost's attention. However, he was slammed into the ground, winding him thoroughly.

He gasped and tried to breathe normally. After could get a shaky breath and he stopped seeing spots, he looked around for Valerie and the Lunch Lady. His friend, he noted unhappily, was cornered. He jumped up, feeling lightheaded, and started towards them to protect Valerie for the incoming blow.

The hit came before he could reach them. He cried out, trying to warn Valerie, but it came too late. His heart stopped and he landed, falling to his knees and gulping. He hung his head in shame.

He had messed up. An innocent got hurt. Valerie didn't know about her powers, she was still considered a civilian…

The Lunch Lady roared and he looked up. A golden glow surprised him. It shielded Valerie from view, protecting her, he realized. She had unknowingly activated her powers.

The ghost tried to strike again, her arm bouncing back. The teen was pushed further down and the floor caved beneath her. Valerie's shield wasn't strong and would only protect her for so long.

He looked around and saw movement to his left. He recognized the form, Sam. And she had the Fenton Thermos.

"How does this thing work?" she asked, looking over at the ghost and Valerie.

"I wish I knew." he said, fiddling with a couple of buttons. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to aim it at himself…

"Charge it."

"What?"

"Charge the thermos." she said.

"How?"

"How else?" He looked at her incredulously. "With your powers, genius. You know, sometimes it's hopeless talking to you."

"I know it is." he said, smirking. "So why do you keep doing it?"

She punch him.

"Ow."

"Just charge the damn thermos."

Danny focused, trying to send some of his ecto-energy into the device. He heard a little whine as it started up. Opening his eyes, he saw a slight glow coming from the opening. He bit his lip and pressed the button. The blast struck the Lunch Lady and sent him backwards. Maybe he had charge it too much…

The ghost wailed as it was sucked in the device, clawing at the tile and leaving deep marks in the floor. In seconds she was gone. The only sign that she had ever been there was the damage. And there was a _lot_ of damage.

He capped the thermos and smiled.

Sam was over by Valerie, shaking her.

"She unconscious." she said.

Wails outside alerted them that police were arriving on the scene. They both looked up to see red and blue flashing lights.

"You might want to get out of here." she told him. "If your parents hear that a ghost is nearby…"

"They'll try to catch me, yeah." he said, frowning. He closed his eyes and transformed back.

"Or you could defy what I say."

"Don't forget who's supposed to rescue you from the dragon when you're locked in a tower, Princess Samantha."

She punched him in the shoulder again.

"Okay, ow." he said, rubbing the sore spot. "That hurt. Didn't you mother ever tell you that violence is not the answer?"

"As far as my mother knows, I'm adjusting perfectly to suburban life."

The main doors burst open, the lock breaking.

Jack and Maddie Fenton were ready for a fight, their weapons blazing. They looked around, trying to spot the ghost with a machine beeping in Jack's hands. It lead them over to Danny.

"You would have to be an idiot not to see there is a ghost right in front of you." the machine said in a feminine voice. The two teens looked at it nervously.

"But, Jack, Danny isn't a ghost." Maddie said, scratching her head. She removed her goggles and hood. Her brow crinkling with wrinkles.

"Blasted thing." Jack said. "Guess we'll have to fix it when we get home."

"Are you all alright?" she said, addressing the teens. "What happened?"

"There were these two ghosts." Danny began.

"And we were coming to see Valerie." Sam said, nodding towards their unconscious friend. "But —"

"But, the ghosts were here and they fought. Valerie got knocked unconscious."

"And we came in through the back door. Thank god we had the Fenton Thermos."

"You got the thermos working?" Jask gasped, rushing over.

"We could only catch one ghost." Sam said.

"You kids are very brave to face the ghosts like that." Maddie said, pulling them both into a hug. "But where's Tucker?"

"Here!" Tucker cried, coming from the back. It was clear that he was out of breath.

"Couldn't find the ghost?" Danny asked him, trying to mentally send a message to him. His friend seemed confused for a moment, then realized what Danny was trying to communicate.

"Huh? Oh, no. He, uh, it got away."

"Are you sure all of you are alright?" Maddie asked.

"Valerie might need to go to the hospital again. To check for broken bones or something." Sam said, looking down at the girl.

Maddie nodded, walking out of the building to the emergency teams outside. Less than a minute later, two men and a stretcher followed her in. She pointed to Valerie and the moved to get her. They carried her out and into one of the waiting ambulances.

"Do you kids need a ride home?" Jack asked.

"Um, sure?" Sam said.

"You're really going to regret that." Danny said to her.

"And why's that?"

"He's an insane driver."

"So?"

"If you die, don't blame me."

"If I die, I'll come back to haunt you, that sound good?"

"Sounds pretty fair."

Danny opened the door for her, being as chivalrous as possible. He tried to hide his grin but failed as she buckled up. She was in for the ride of her life.

* * *

**I originally was never going to switch to Danny's POV there but when writing this chapter I had to. Nothing was working properly after I got to that point. So… POV switch.**

**I hope everyone's Easters were enjoyable. I overstuffed myself on pierogies, stuffed cabbage, mashed potatoes, dumplings, and vegetables. I didn't get what I wanted from the Easter Bunny but I got my pajamas and sunglasses, so I don't really care.**

**My updates will return to Monday updates, if you didn't see above. I really hope that I can finish this story by the end of the month. By the looks of it, I should be able to. **

**O_O I just realized, this was my longest chapter yet. Over 5000 words. So, was this worth the wait? I hope it was.**

**Danny, Sam, and Jazz POV in the next chapter. Not in that order. What's going on with Jazz? When will Sam's grandmother wake up? What does the meaning of the Morse Code? Will anyone be able to figure it out?**

**Do you guys need to see the numbers again? Here you go!**

**1, 2, 5, 2, 2, 1, 0, 9, 1, 9,1 5, 1, 6, 9. **

**1, 4, 5, 8, 1, 6, 1, 2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 1, 6. **

**1, 5, 2, 0. **

**5, 1, 3, 1, 5, 2, 3, 9.**

**I'm still wondering if anyone can figure it out.**


	12. Mindset

**Camp is going great. I'm getting a lot more done by forcing myself to write around 2400 words a day. This was finished sometime last week and edited today. Hopefully I'll remember next week when the chapter needs to be posted and not around ten.**

**By the way, congrats to KimuraSato who solved the code last night! For everyone else (except DB-KT who was there during the discussion), you'll have to figure it out or wait until next week when **_**it all will be revealed**_**. ;D All this week, though, I will be adding clues to my Twitter page. Just search #DoNotCrossIOC for the hints. **

**Speaking of DB-KT: I think I told you, but this chapter explains what happened to Vlad. **

**So, I have some news for you guys. Originally, this was just going to be a duology (a series of two books), however after talking to my fellow campers, the end of book 2 would lead to a third book. The **_**DNC**_** duology has become a trilogy. And it's going to be awesome, especially since what I have planned for book 2 will be heart stopping. And you'll hate me, no doubt. Only two people know what I have planned for one character. You can blame them some other time.**

**Because of this, book 3 is still in the planning stages. I'm thinking of doing **_**DNC**_** for camps only for the next couple of years and work on other projects the rest of the year. Sound good to you guys? It works for me. :D**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 12**

**Mindset**

"_**I keep thinking about blood, I dream about it. Wake up thinking about it. Pretty soon I'll be writing morbid emo poetry about it." Cassandra Clare, **_**City of Ashes **

Jazz untangled herself from her sheets, feeling the sweat on her skin turn sticky as it cooled. She shook her hands in an attempt to stop the trembling.

It was just a dream, she told herself. Nothing more than a bad, bad dream.

But what had she dreamed? She remembered flashes of green and those terrifying eyes of the same hue. Danny had been there, she knew that. He'd been crying out in pain. And there was blood. His blood. Someone was trying to kill him. And she felt guilty about it. Why? Was she the cause of his pain?

"Impossible." she said. The word barely even a whisper to her own ears in the deafening silence of her room.

It was too dark in the place she slept, she decided. She discarded the sheets and quilt into a heap on her bed, making her way towards her window. The shades were old and faded, no longer mass-produced really. She twisted the plastic and the shades jerked open little by little, letting light from the street in.

The moon was waning, giving off very little light and it was barely a sliver in the sky. She couldn't see the stars from her room, the lights of the nearby city were too great. Stray clouds would mar the sky from time to time, clawing at the deep, blue expanse.

Jazz used to stare at the sky with Danny when they were younger and neither one of them could sleep. They would creep up to the roof and sit beneath the emergency OP center and it was still being built in those days. They would giggle the entire time they made their way up. She still wondered if their parents knew that they did that. The two of them just sat and pointed to constellations, making up ridiculous stories for them.

She looked over to her closed door. Danny was sleeping downstairs, due to an unexpected guest. Maybe she could wake him up and they could talk on the roof. They hadn't done that since she was eleven.

A soft creak alerted her to someone in the hallway. She tiptoed over to the corner of her room where she kept some of her parents' inventions. The Anti-Creep Stick — it was really just a baseball bat with the word "Fenton" on it — would suffice as a weapon if there was an intruder.

She slowly opened her door and peeked out. There was a shadow.

"Jazz?" a voice said. It was very familiar. She recognized it immediately.

"Danny." she said quietly. "What are you doing?"

"I, uh, needed an extra blanket. Did I wake you?"

"No, I woke up. Bad dream."

"Dream? What kind of dream?"

"I… I don't really know."

"Come on, let's go downstairs and get you some water. We can talk about it."

He grabbed her hand, which was surprisingly warm. She hadn't realized that she was cold.

She allowed him to pull her downstairs to the kitchen. He flipped on the light, burning both their eyes.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

Jazz rubbed her eyes and sat down at the table as Danny got her a glass of water. He set it down in front of her. She didn't drink it, instead she held onto it as she stared down at the table and tried to make sense of her dream.

He waited patiently for her to explain. When Jazz didn't speak for several minutes, he did.

"So what was this bad dream about?" he asked.

"I…" she began, pausing as she sorted through her thoughts. "I'm not sure."

"You said something like that earlier."

"I know."

"If you don't want to talk about it with me, I'm sure mom will listen."

Jazz shook her head.

"I was actually going to wake you to talk about it." she said, looking at him. "Why are you wearing yesterday's clothes? Did you go somewhere?"

"I fell asleep on the couch in my clothes." Danny said. "Let's get back to your dream."

It was clearly a lie. She could tell by the way he stroked his arm with his hand. Danny always did that when he lied. He also kept eye contact. These were subtle hints to the untruth, but it was obvious he didn't want her to know. So, she acted as if she had just brushed it off.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Was anyone in it?"

"You were."

He perked up at this.

"What happened?"

Her brow crinkled as she tried to remember.

"I don't really know. There was green everywhere, though. And there was blood. Your blood. People were trying to hurt you — kill you."

"Who were they?"

"I couldn't see. Everything was all black and green and red." she said, shuddering. "It was horrible. It was chaos and horrible and… and…"

"You can't remember everything can you?"

She shook her head and mumbled a 'no.'

"It's alright."

"I think… I think I'll make a dream journal. This is the seventh time this month that I've had this dream. It gets more vivid every time."

His eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"You've had this dream more than once?" he asked.

"Yeah. Like I said, it gets more vivid every time. Maybe next time I'll be able to remember everything."

"Maybe."

For the first time, Jazz sipped at the water. It felt good. She felt it settle in her stomach. That was a weird sensation, if there ever was one.

"So, what woke you up?" Jazz asked.

"I was cold, remember?" he said. "I got cold and I needed an extra blanket."

"What do you make of dad's old college buddy?"

"I'm not sure what to make of him. He's… odd." His brow crinkled as he thought. "I sort of feel… uncomfortable around him. Why, after all this time, did he decide to visit mom and dad?"

"I think he's in love with mom." Jazz said. "He talked about her a lot when mom and dad went out to catch those ghosts. What were you doing at Nasty Burger?"

"We were going to meet up with Valerie."

"At ten at night?"

"I'm a teenager. Since when does everything I do make sense?"

Jazz rolled her eyes. He _did_ have a point.

"Thanks for the water, by the way." she said. "And the talk. We haven't just talked in a long time."

"Yeah."

"Some night, do you want to go sit underneath the OP center?"

"That'd be great." Danny said, giving her a big grin.

"I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Good night, Jazz.

"Night, Danny."

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

When Jazz woke the next morning, it was from the dream again. She quickly scribbled down what she remembered underneath her entry that she made after talking with Danny. Her recollection of the dream hadn't changed any. It would take some time, she knew, for her to recall every miniscule detail.

Sighing, she got herself ready for the day. She was thankful that she had showered the previous evening She did this so it wouldn't take her as long as it usually did, at least it felt that way. How long had she been brushing her hair? She really must have spaced out because it had been twenty minutes since she woke up.

A knock on her door jolted her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Are you okay, honey?" her mother said, opening the door slowly. "You're taking longer today than you normally do. Do you want to talk about something?"

"No, I'm fine. Danny and I talked about something that's been bugging me last night."

"Like you two used to?"

"Sort of." was the reply.

Maddie nodded and left the room, closing the door most of the way.

Jazz collected her things for school and got ready to leave. No sense in having to come all the way up to get her things when she could bring them down on her first trip.

She noted that her paper had to be printed out still. Frowning, she booted up her computer and waited impatiently, tapping her nails on her desk. She grumbled to herself as she fixed last night's error for not being perfectly ready for the next day.

It didn't take long to complete the task, but Jazz felt set back. She had a rather strict regime that needed to be followed precisely. Her family's shenanigans would pop up at random times, true, but at least she was prepared for them.

The dream was still lingering, haunting her. She couldn't shake it, no matter how hard she tried.

She remembered reading something about dreams in her psychology books. She had never really big into those sections, brushing up on new theories every now and again, sure. But she wasn't one to follow them as religiously as Casper High's psychology teacher did.

She knew that dreams held a psychological meaning, a way to help a person solve their problems in a way that most scientists didn't even fully understand. What research had been done showed very little comprehension beyond the metaphysical manifestations of a person's desires and knowledge.

Jazz wondered if she should ask her teacher to help her decipher the meaning. With little thought, she added her little blue journal with her paper.

Her steps were light on the carpet as she moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth before breakfast. She nearly bumped into Vlad Masters, her father's guest and college "buddy," as he exited.

"Sorry." she said.

"It's quite alright." he said, smiling. "Did you sleep well?"

She shrugged and looked at her feet. She was quite uncomfortable with him around. He had this… _feeling_ about him that put her on edge. She wasn't quite sure what it was about him, though, that would have her head towards the hills than stay in the same room as him.

"Ah, well." he said. "You have school today?"

"Yes." she replied automatically. "It's my senior year."

"The most exciting time in a young adult's life before they emerge into the collegiate world. Enjoy high school while you can, Jasmine."

Jazz winced as he walked past her to go downstairs. What was his malfunction? There was something for everyone, and she had her family's problems all laid out in several books. Their consistencies were, well, consistent. They were very predictable.

This friend of her father's was something she had never predicted. Spending five minutes alone with the man she could tell he was inconsistent. He was snake-like.

She shook her head. She probably just had a bad first impression.

She quickly brushed her teeth and headed downstairs to join her family for breakfast. They were all seated around the table, Vlad Masters amongst them. And the only empty seat was across from him.

She set down her bag right outside the kitchen and took the seat. She added food to her plate and ate silently as her parents and Vlad conversed. She only halfheartedly listened to their discussion. They were talking about their college days.

She peeked over at Danny. He looked tired. There were bags under his eyes and his shoulders slouched forwards. Plus, he only seemed to be stirring his cereal around his bowl. He hardly ever ate anything else. She wondered why that was.

She polished off her plate of food and dumped it into the sink. Danny followed her lead. He ate maybe one or two bites.

"Ready to go?" Jazz asked, startling him.

"Huh?" he asked.

"School. Are you ready to go?"

"Uh… let me get my stuff."

She watched as he darted up the stairs with surprising speed — had he always been that light on his feet? — and to he bedroom. He was back down by her side in a minute. They were nearly the same height now. When had he gotten so tall?

"Can we pick up Tuck and Sam?" Danny asked.

"Sure." she said, picking up her bag. "Think Sam can handle to RV?"

He chuckled, remembering how the girl nearly had a panic attack with their dad's reckless driving. Reckless did not even begin to cover how the man drove. It was actually the nicest way to describe it.

The Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle, or the RV as it was best known, was the Fenton family's number form of transportation. It was suited for travel and was able to go to speeds that were only legal on the one road in Germany. It was more than capable of protecting them when their father drove.

It didn't take the two of them long to gather the other two teens, who welcomed the change. The weather was starting to get bitter and cold. Danny didn't seem to mind it like he used to, Jazz noted. He seemed to like it.

There was a very obvious change in him. She wondered what had caused it. It had definitely started when Sam moved to Amity. Did her brother have a little crush? She smiled at the thought. The dark-haired girl would be more than capable of keeping him in line.

They arrived at the school in a short time. All of them exiting the vehicle immediately, Sam darting out the fastest. She leapt over Tucker and out the door quicker than any of them could blink.

Jazz gaped at her. Danny had said that Sam was teaching him and Tucker some self-defense. That was perhaps the cause of his speed. Maybe she should get Sam to teach her a few things…

"You coming, Jazz?" Danny asked, heading towards the building.

She blinked and nodded, following after the three up the steps. She felt a cold breeze lap at her legs through the black dress pants she liked to wear. She held back a shudder. Winter was coming but it was still a few months away.

Teachers greeted her as she walked past and she offered her greetings in return.

First period was, of course, gym. Danny, Tucker, and Sam shared the same class but they had different teachers. She had to suffer through Paulina, Dash, and Kwan. Mostly Dash, and his fawning over her.

She held back a roll of her eyes as she changed into her uniform. He was a nice guy, when he wasn't picking on Danny, but he was incredibly annoying with his advances. She wasn't romantically interested in him at all.

And, of course, he stood waiting for her outside the dressing room doors.

"Morning, Jazz." he said.

"Good morning, Dash." she said, trying not to grit her teeth. "You could have taken your spot for role call already."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to wait to see if you were coming today."

"Why wouldn't I be at school today?"

"You've been looking a little tired." he said. "More so than usual. You're brother's not looking too good either. Something going on at home?"

"No. Well, my dad's friend from college just arrived two days ago, but other than that everything's normal."

"Oh, okay then." he said. He seemed a bit dejected.

"If anything is wrong," she said, "I'll be sure to tell you. Thanks for caring, though. It's awfully nice of you."

"Yeah, well, you listened to all of my problems last years, so I thought I'd offer you the same courtesy."

She smiled and patted his arm before taking he designated spot on the floor, right next to the head of the school's mascot, a raven. She looked down at the black, white, and red colors painted on the floor, tracing her fingers over them.

White was the color of purity, goodness, and innocence. Black was the color of power, death, and evil. And red was the color of blood, warfare, and passion. Ravens were interesting creatures. They were thought to be bringers of ill omens in ancient times, but they were intelligent and could remember faces of people who wronged them for several generations. They were creatures of magic and divination (pseudopsychology was not her forte), and they were symbols of courage, wisdom, messages, secrets, and truths.

She wondered when it was voted to be their mascot. It wasn't hard to figure out _why_, there were plenty of ravens hanging around Amity Park all year round. They weren't migratory birds and over the years Jazz found an interest in them. She would sometimes feed them some bread if she had any when she was at the park, something she hadn't done in a while.

She shook her head and waited for the class to start. The teacher called out names and the students answered one by one.

"Okay," their teacher said, "today we're playing volleyball. Same teams as last week."

The students stood up. Jazz was the last to rise and she had help. She internally groaned as Dash helped her up. Him and his silly crush on her. She could really do without it.

"We were on the same team last week, weren't we?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she sighed, unhappily.

"Okay. I couldn't remember. Do you like volleyball?"

"It's alright."

She watched everyone went to their reserved courts. She saw her brother's class going off to a different section of the gym. He caught her staring and he waved. She returned the gesture and smiled.

He seemed more at ease when Tucker and Sam were around. It was almost as if they were meant to be by his side. Almost as if, even if they were in an alternate universe, they would still be friends. It put her mind at ease to know that.

"Ready to play?" she asked Dash.

* * *

Danny sat with Tucker, Sam, and Valerie at lunch. He ate his sandwich he had bought from the cafeteria irritatedly. The pregnant silence between the four of them was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

Valerie had returned to school that morning, this time with a strong warning from exerting herself with physical activity. She had to sit out through gym that morning and she was told to refrain from working for the rest of the month — not that it really mattered, of course. The Nasty Burger was undergoing reconstruction from the ghost attack. She had questioned why Danny, Sam, and Tucker returned to the eatery but she received no answers from them.

She was the one to break the silence.

"What's up, Danny?" she asked.

"Dash." he grumbled. "He's hitting on Jazz. Again."

"Wait, that blond muscle head?" Sam asked. "Why would he have a crush on Jazz? No offence, Danny, but she's not really his type. They're in two different leagues."

"I know. Why can't he, I don't know, be interested in Paulina? She's his type."

"Paulina's _everybody's_ type." Valerie said, rolling her eyes.

"That's true." Tucker said, eyeing the teen from across the cafeteria. "Do you think I have a shot?"

"No." the other three chorused. They shared looks before laughing.

"So, Shakespeare." Valerie said. "Any ideas on how to present the scene, Sam?"

"I was sort of thinking of a _West Side Story_ kind of thing, you know 1950s gang, but I heard a few others talking about doing it like that. Jazz and her group are doing the traditional style, of course. Another group was doing a modern interpretation. So, maybe… How about if we Kenneth Branagh it?"

"_What_?" Danny asked.

"He does unique adaptations of Shakespeare's plays."

"He did _Hamlet_ with the mirrors in the soliloquy, right?" Valerie asked.

"Right. Oh! A Victorian adaptation. Thanks for the idea, Val." Sam pulled out her notebook from her schoolbag and started sketching. "We have until the end of the week for making a set and costumes, right?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome. I can set some people on making these costumes right away. Do you guys want to swing by my place tomorrow for measurements?"

"…You really get into this, don't you?" Valerie asked her friend. Sam nodded.

"It keeps me busy." she said.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but you three look pretty wiped. What's been going on?"

"Huh, oh…" Danny said. He looked at Sam, trying to get her to come up with a good lie. She nodded subtly, setting down her fork in her salad bowl.

"I've been whipping these two into shape." Sam said, waving her hand. "You know, with the ghost attacks and everything. Danny needs to learn because he'll be taking over the family business, and Tucker… Well, let's face it, Tuck's never going to get married and he'll be helping Danny out for the rest of his life."

"Hey!" the boys chorused.

"And what about you, Sam?" Valerie asked.

"Traveling the world, chronicling my adventures, listening these two complain via Skype or some other form of mass communication."

Valerie chuckled behind her hand. The Goth's teasing of the two boys, while it annoyed them, amused all of them. She made the group shine at its brightest. She brought out the best of everyone, while helping them find themselves. Valerie noticed how much more confident Danny and Tucker were since Sam joined them.

"So, these are the costume ideas?" Valerie asked, eyeing the sketch. It was very well drawn. "I won't have to wear a corset, will I?"

"It'd be awesome if you did." Sam said, adding some fine details that she wanted. "They help with posture and, besides, you'd look good in one."

"Whatever you say, Goth girl."

Sam smiled at her before going back the drawing.

"Miss Manson?"

The group turned to see a somber Mr. Lancer standing there.

"Will you come with me?" he asked. "You father is here to pick you up."

She looked rather confused as she collected her things. She glanced at Danny and he knew she was nervous immediately. Something is wrong. He tried to telepathically tell her to text him once she knew what was going on. She nodded, seeming to understand what he was trying to convey.

They watched as her figure retreated wit their teacher's.

"Think he'll tell us what's up?" Tucker asked.

Danny shrugged. He hoped that he would find out soon.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"Hey, Jazz, can we talk?" Danny asked as he sat down in the RV after school.

"Sure." she said. "What's up?"

"Don't go out with Dash, okay?"

She looked at him, blinking for a second before bursting out laughing.

"I see nothing laughable about that." he huffed, pouting.

"I don't like him like that." she said, wiping away tears that had pricked at the corners of her eyes. "He's a really nice guy. Do you want me to ask him to stop picking on you, little brother?"

Danny straightened.

"I'm old enough to fight my own battles, thank you." he grumbled.

"I know. But I'll always be here to help you if you need it."

Danny smiled at her.

"Thanks." he said. "So, we ready to go home?"

"You don't have to be back here today?"

"No, Sam was picked up, so our lessons were canceled. Tucker was excited to actually be able to make a meeting for the computer club this year. It's kind of nice. I'll be able to eat dinner at a normal time tonight."

Jazz chuckled starting up the RV and taking off.

"Were you thinking of joining any clubs?" she asked.

"No." he said, staring out the window. "I've thought about it but nothing's really peaked my interest."

"You could be the school mascot again. I heard Lester saying that he didn't want to do it anymore."

"I take pictures during the games this year."

"Hm… Well, if you want to join the student council, just let me know, okay? I'm the president this year. You could be in charge of the sophomore events."

"Thanks but no thanks. I just don't have much time."

"Training, right." Jazz said, a little bitter. "Why is it so important that you learn how to fight?"

"Sam says that I'll take over the family business."

She choked on her own spit. Danny? Taking over the ghost hunting business? …Actually, she could see that happening.

She knew that he always wanted to go up into space, but with his grades being the way they were, his acceptance into the space program was growing more unlikely by the day.

She smiled when she saw that Vlad Master's town car was no longer parked in front of their home. She hoped he left for good.

She pulled up to the sidewalk and killed the engine. The RV always got curious stares from the neighbors and the people in town, especially from her peers from school. However, most people just wanted to everything that it could do rather than why the thing existed.

Jazz was more irritated than anything else when people asked her for a ride when she was out and using it, however she had gotten used to explaining her parents' new additions to the beast over the past two years. It was her normal, after all.

Danny would be using it soon for driver's ed. He wanted to take a private session with this one company. He had signed up for it last year with Tucker. She wondered if Sam had signed up for any driving lessons. She would need them if she would be living in the suburbs.

When the two siblings entered the house, they were greeted by silence.

"Hello?" Jazz called out. "Mom? Dad? …Mr. Masters? Anyone?"

"Maybe they went out?" Danny suggested. "Vlad's car is gone."

"I wonder where they could have gone."

"Who cares."

Danny dumped his things on the floor by the front door, much to her dislike. He kicked off his shoes halfway to the kitchen before he rummaged through the refrigerator to snack on something.

He came out bearing a sandwich and a jar of pickles. He deposited the food on the coffee table, flipping on the TV with the remote that was normally buried beneath the couch cushions and pillows. The news was on.

"…a_nd that concludes the cat videos found on YouTube for the day_." the news anchor said. "_Now, coming in live from the Nasty Burger, is Dory Avenue. Fill us in, Dory, with what's going on in the streets._"

"_Thanks, Chad,_" Dory Avenue said. "_I'm here at the ruins of the Nasty Burger where multibillionaire Vladimir Masters has just bought the franchise for $450,000 from its previous owner, Jonathan Tasty. He plans to rebuild the fast food restaurant and revamp it…_"

Danny and Jazz gaped at the screen, neither listening as the story continued. After a moment, Jazz broke the silence.

"Well," she said, "there will be an interesting conversation at dinner tonight."

* * *

**I'm not sure if anyone picked it up when reading this, but this chapter takes place on the Wednesday following the Nasty Burger attack. I dropped a subtle hint in there but not much. Valerie seems to keep getting discharged early from the hospital for some point in this fic…**

**Jazz's dream is something I didn't want to delve into with her first chapter as the narrator. Her dream in the next chapter is something I've had written for sometime, since the reboot of this. I think that you'll all… **_**fall**_** for it.**

**Dash's crush on Jazz I decided to carry over into this. Why? Well, for amusement, really. **

**Kenneth Branagh's **_**Hamlet**_** is pretty amazing. It's something that you guys should check out when you have some free time. The only other film version I like is Gregory Daran's version with David Tennant. That one's particularly cool because Tennant was able to use a real freaking skull for the "Alas poor Yorrick" speech. I was finishing up **_**Hamlet**_** when I wrote this chapter and starting **_**The Merchant of Venice**_**, which I will finish up tomorrow in class.**

**Sam's disappearance will be explained in the next chapter, which actually caused a rewrite of a few things but nothing that couldn't easily be fixed.**

**Ultimately, I wasn't quite sure at how much Nasty Burger would cost. Does $450,000 seem like enough or should it be more? And for Vlad being a multi**_**billionaire**_**, I debated a lot on that. It makes sense, as he over shadowed many millionaires to get his money.**

**I'm tired, I think I shall be chatting with my camping mates tonight and then crashing. So long, my readers.**


	13. Holiness

**Part of this chapter is going to break your heart and part of it will excite you all. Things are most certainly changing in Amity Park…**

**So, you remember my little summary for this story I have set up here? Well, it finally appears. ;D **

**Also, the meaning of the code is revealed in this chapter, just so you're aware. My clues are still up on my Twitter. If you didn't check them out, you missed some very helpful tips.**

**sohrem666, I pm-ed you the answer to your question, as I'm not quite ready to reveal it to the widespread audience quite yet.**

* * *

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 13**

**Holiness**

"_**With your feet in the air and your head on the groundTry this trick and spin it, yeahYour head will collapseBut there's nothing in itAnd you'll ask yourselfWhere is my mind…"The Pixies, "Where is My Mind?"**_

Sam bounced on her toes as she waited to be allowed in to her grandmother's hospital room. They had been running tests on her all afternoon and the girl couldn't wait any longer to hear that familiar voice. They had a _lot_ to catch up on.

"Stop that." her mother said, grabbing her arm.

"Pam." her father said, unclamping his wife's hand from their daughter. "Samantha is the closest human being to my mother. She's just excited. Let her be."

Normally, Sam would have sent the woman a gleeful smirk but her grandmother was awake. That was more important than sticking it to her mother.

She darted to the bedside when they were told they could go in. She grabbed her grandmother's frail hand and held it close. She had sorely miss the woman more than words could express.

The elderly woman looked up at her with glassy eyes.

"Sammy?" she asked, her voice coming out in a croak.

"Yeah." Sam said quietly. "It's me. How do you feel?"

"Like hell."

"Mom and dad are here."

"Hi, mom." Jeremy said, taking his mother's other hand. "We're glad to see you awake."

"I feel awful." she said. "Tell the nurse to give me more drugs. I ache all over. All their poking and prodding bruised my bones. Jem, be a dear please."

Sam's father nodded and he went to go find a nurse.

"Do you need anything else?" Pamela asked, standing back a little. The two women had never really gotten along, Sam knew. Something happened between the two of them before she had been born.

"Some food would be nice. Sneak some in here, will you?"

Pamela pursed her lips.

"Alright." she said, nodding and leaving.

Sam barely waited a second before catching her grandmother up on current events.

"We found your message." she said. "Danny, Tucker, and me. We're training. A teacher of ours, Mr. Lancer, is a Wiccan. Did you know there were so many of us here? Anyone can become part of our world, at least that's what Mr. Lancer says. Danny's learned a lot. And then there's Val — oh gosh, Val! She might be a Witch. Bubelah, what am I going to tell her?"

She chuckled, patting her granddaughter's hand.

"Slowly now, Samantha."

"Valerie Gray. She's in a few of my classes. Something happened to her. Tucker and Danny think that the Fenton Ghost Portal is the cause of it. It's, like, radioactive or something. It's causing people to change."

"Ghost portals can't do that. They don't cause a change to a normal human. It takes years of exposure to ectoplasm to cause a change. Or a direct infusion of ectoplasm into the bloodstream. Or —"

"Or an accident like Danny had." Sam said.

"But all of those require a magical object to help the change. Most of them were destroyed at the turn of the century for fear that the Reapers might get their hands on them."

"There wasn't any magical object present when Danny was changed."

"Really?" her grandmother said, an eyebrow cocked. "Then what is that around your neck?"

Sam touched the locket her mother had given her that fateful summer day. She had forgotten all about it, if she were to be completely honest.

She looked down at it. It didn't _seem_ magical. But then again, most never did.

"It's a powerful one." her grandmother said. "Keep it on you at all times."

"But what if —"

"No one else will change. I promise. That magic is all used up. Only so many changes can be made with one item. Now, tell me about this Valerie Gray's change. Can you think of anything that may have caused it?"

She bit her lip and thought about it. There must have been something she was forgetting…

She straightened.

"Mom mentioned some gossip about Valerie had been injecting herself with something. I know for a fact that she doesn't do drugs."

"Someone changed her and she has no idea of what she is capable of?"

"Mr. Lancer can teach her, too."

"Three pupils is more than enough."

"But I'll be back under your tutelage, won't I?"

"Sam, I am old." the elderly woman said, for once sounding her age. "I was old long before you were even born. I am older now and if I continue to live, I will only get even older."

"What are you saying?"

She smiled at her granddaughter. It was a peaceful and sad, but content. And she said, "Sam… Samantha… I am ready to die."

* * *

Danny sat glaring at Vlad Masters the entire dinner. How could he? _How could he buy Nasty Burger? _It was the one place he liked to hang out when he wasn't home, at school, or with Tucker and Sam somewhere.

And his father sat boasting — _boasting_, of all things — about how great a friend his was, looking out for his children.

He felt betrayed. How could his father be so traitorous?

By glancing at Jazz, he could tell she felt the same way.

The two of them excused themselves from the table to do their homework.

"Do you think any of the teachers would mind if I told them I was too exhausted to do any work?" Danny asked his sister.

"You going to bed?" she said, surprised.

They both knew he was a night owl and that he had gone three days without sleep last year. Neither of them told their parents, although they both knew their mother suspected something at the time. They both silently agreed that it was written somewhere in the sibling code. Tattling was not the answer. Blackmail, on the other hand, was acceptable if the dirt was good enough.

"Yeah."

"I don't think anyone would mind too much. Just say that mom and dad were working on a new experiment all night and you had to help them. They'd believe that."

"You've tried it?"

"Once or twice. It got me out of turning a paper in on time."

"You? Not turn in homework when it was due?" Danny said, laughing.

"I was given an extended deadline. Besides, it was when mom and dad were working on that damn portal. I wonder how that thing even got started." she said, tapping her chin. "According to mom's notes from one of her logs, a portal to the world of the dead can only be created if blood it spilled. Usually, it was a human sacrifice. Mediums would —"

"Necromancers."

"Huh?"

"They're called Necromancers. They can summon the dead and send them back. They use pig's blood, not a human's."

Jazz gaped at him.

"Where did you learn that?"

"From Sam."

"Of course, Sam. It _always _has to do with Sam." Jazz said, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever." Danny said, going into his room and closing the door. He could hear his sister ranting and raving on outside. He stripped of his clothes for the day, depositing them by the end of his bed, and changing into his pajamas.

He sprawled himself out on his bed and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. He had maybe been out for five minutes before his phone went off. It was from Sam.

He shot up and read her message.

_**She wants to die.**_

He blinked at the glowing screen. It took a moment for him to realize she was talking about. Her grandmother.

He quickly typed up a reply and waited for the response.

_**Why?**_ he asked.

It took her several minutes but she did respond.

_**Danny, what do I do?**_

He really didn't know. What could he say to comfort her? What could he do? Talk the old woman out of it? There was only one honest answer he could give:

_**I don't know.**_

* * *

She walked through Amity Park. It was dark and there was a heavy fog that clung to her skin and every breath she took. She didn't know where she was recognized the street, but she couldn't place where it was. Was she near the school? Yes, she was. She could see the building. It was marked off by police tape. What had happened to Casper High?

Slowly, she walked around the school, staying just beyond the yellow tape, trying to remember the accident that had caused this.

She pressed her mind for the memory. It was hazy, but there was a lot of screaming and fear. What had caused that?

She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black _DO NOT CROSS _letters.

Her bare feet crunched over the broken window glass. She knew she should feel some sort of pain, but her nerve endings were shot. Her body pulsed with a numb beat.

She gulped, not liking how everything stuck in her throat. It felt as if something was invading her body. She pulled at the necklace ever-present around her neck, hoping to loosen some of the tension it created.

She passed through the school doors and warily walled down the dark hallway. Lockers were bent in, papers were scattered, burned, and coated in a layer of dust. Rubble clumped together in odd spots. Here and there, she spotted familiar school supplies. She spotted Jamie Clarkson's spiral notebook that they would swap when they wanted to talk in class.

Finding nothing on the first floor, she moved to the second story. She passed by abandoned classrooms, with desks overturned and littering the ground. More dented lockers and astray objects, more dust, more disaster.

_What on earth happened?_

She stepped on a weak section of flooring. It groaned beneath her bare feet. She tentatively stepped forward, it groaned again. She prayed it would hold her weight as she continued on.

It didn't.

The floor opened up beneath her and she fell down into the darkness.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Jazz jumped on her bed, the sheets twisted with her legs. Sweat chilled her skin and made it sticky, her pajamas clung to her torso. She gasped in deep breaths and prayed that her heart would calm down.

A knock on her door, while startling, was a comfort to hear. Someone other than her was awake in the darkness. The door creaked open and her brother's messy-haired head poke in.

"You okay?" Danny asked quietly. "I heard you mumbling."

Jazz gaped at him. He was dressed in his street clothes and not his pajamas, like he should have been.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "You in a gang?"

Sam's alone tonight because her parents stayed and the hospital and she thinks someone might be trying to break into her house."

"Then why didn't she call the police?"

"She did." Danny said after a moment. "She just wants other people there. Big house, she's all alone. It's kind of creepy, you know?"

"Would she mind if I came with?" Jazz asked, tossing off her covers. A shiver ran up her spine.

"I don't think she would."

"Give me a minute to get ready then."

"Bring extra clothes with." he said, ducking out of his sister's room, closing the door behind him to give her some privacy. She could hear him mumbling as he talked on his phone.

Jazz quickly tossed off her nightwear and grabbed a comfortable sweater and worn blue jeans. She brushed her hair and grabbed an extra outfit and her school things — might as well, she didn't know how long they'd be there.

Danny was waiting with his schoolbag. He looked tired as he leaned against the wall. Jazz half expected him to doze off then and there.

"You ready?" he asked, looking at her.

"Sure." was her reply.

He gestured for his sister to follow him. Quietly, they both made their way downstairs and out the backdoor. Danny closed the door as silently as he could and then made a dash for the shed. Jazz knew that the high fence needed to be fixed badly. Danny was supposed to have done that over the summer, but he never got around to it. She wondered how much longer their mother would wait before doing it herself.

Danny pushed back the loose boards and allowed Jazz to pass through before leaving the yard himself. He set the boards back and started walking in the direction of the Manson mansion.

"How often do you sneak out?" Jazz asked, looking around nervously. It was three in the morning, after all, and quite chilly. She wished she had thought to grab her coat from the closet.

Danny shrugged, which was an infuriating gesture. He tended to do this a lot since befriending Sam. Jazz wondered what was up with them. There was times they seemed like the were close friends and there were just as many times they seemed closer than that. It was indubitable that since the girl came, there was a lot of changes in Jazz's younger brother.

She tried to make small talk, but Danny seemed more concerned with getting to the Manson place unnoticed. He was very stealthy and he obviously knew the police route well. They were never spotted once.

The siblings reached the mansion in less than fifteen minutes. Tucker and Sam were outside, talking by the door. They looked up when the Fentons approached.

"Hey, Jazz." Tucker greeted, pounding Danny's fist. "Early morning, huh?"

"Yeah." Jazz said quietly. Their voices carried far through the empty streets. She felt horrible about destroying the solitude.

"Let's go inside." Sam suggested, opening the door. They followed her in.

"How long ago did the police leave?" Jazz asked.

"Police? Oh, er, not too long ago. Tucker just missed them."

"Oh, okay."

"So, why are you here, Jazz?" Tucker asked. "No offense or anything. I'm really curious."

"I…" she said. "I've been having some weird dreams lately. I woke up from one, a new one, and Danny invited me."

"A new nightmare?" Danny said, surprised. "But I thought…"

He trailed off, falling into his own thoughts.

"Hey, Sam? I'm going to the library."

"Okay." she said, looking confused. They watched as he sprinted up the stairs, carrying his and Jazz's things. "Tuck, want to get my notes out of my room? Jazz, come with me. We'll make some tea or something to keep ourselves awake."

Sam lead her to the kitchen, where she flipped on a light and dug around in the cabinets, looking for some tea.

Jazz checked the tea kettle and found no water in it. She filled it up with cold water.

Sam took it from her, setting it on the stove. She twisted the knob and a blue flame licked the edges of the kettle. She prepared a pot and a little infuser. They waited in silence for the shrill screech to rise to a decent level before turning it off.

When the tea was brewed, cookies and other treats set on the tray, and they had cream and sugar, the two headed upstairs to the library.

"So what was this dream about?" Sam asked.

"I don't really remember." Jazz admitted. "I know that I was falling at some point, when I woke up. I think I might have been in Amity Park."

"Maybe your dream was trying to tell you something?"

"Maybe. Hey, Sam, does Danny sneak out to meet you a lot?"

"Maybe once or twice, but not really since the summer."

"Then he sneaks out to do other things."

"I doubt it, Jazz." Sam said, rolling her eyes, as Jazz opened the library door. "I mean, this is _Danny_ we're talking about."

"Why are we talking about me?" Danny asked, looking up from a book.

This was the first time in a long time that Jazz saw her brother reading from something that wasn't for a class. The book was a large one, too, and looked to weigh almost as much as he did. Where on _earth _did he get that thing?

"Don't worry about it, Danny." Sam said, setting down the tray.

She poured them each a cup and distributed them to her friends, taking a spot at a different table than Danny and Tucker, who were both reading the large book. Jazz took a seat next to Sam.

"What are you working on?" she asked, sipping from her tea cup.

"Hm? Oh, Morse code." Sam said. "Know anything about translating it?"

"Not particularly, no. Let me see what you have."

Sam handed her the paper. Numbers were strewn across the pages, as well as theories. Jazz ignored them and paid attention to the numbers.

_**1, 2, 5, 2, 2, 1, 0, 9, 1, 9,1 5, 1, 6, 9. **_

_**1, 4, 5, 8, 1, 6, 1, 2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 1, 6. **_

_**1, 5, 2, 0. **_

_**5, 1, 3, 1, 5, 2, 3, 9.**_

"Have you tried coordinates?" she asked.

"Yeah and I got some crappy answers." Sam said, showing her that work. "I've tried several things but nothing worked."

"What about combining numbers? Not like adding them, but to get teens and twenties?"

"I hadn't thought about that."

Jazz got to work. Every now and again, she would second guess herself, but she never changed her answers.

_**12, 5, 22, 10, 9, 19, 15, 16, 9.**_

_**14, 5, 8, 16, 1, 20, 20, 21, 16.**_

_**15, 20.**_

_**5, 13, 15, 23, 9.**_

Sam read the numbers over her shoulder, typing them into her computer and breaking them up to test for coordinates. She sipped her tea as she waited for the results.

Jazz guessed she was using some high-tech program not available in the US, and it was confirmed by the strange Asian symbols she didn't recognize. (Where those Chinese or Japanese?) She shrugged it off and looked back down at the numbers. They began to swirl in front of her eyes and shift towards letters.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." Jazz said. "I think I might be seeing things. The numbers started to look like letters."

The computer program beeped.

Sam looked over the results and shook her head. Nothing.

"So, what's this about letters?" she asked.

The two of them began trying to apply letters to the numbers. The two of them frowned at their results.

_**LEVJISOPI**_

_**NEHPATTUP**_

_**OT**_

_**EMOWI**_

"That doesn't seem right." Sam said slowly.

"There must be something we're missing." Jazz said. She tried several other things, each time getting a weird result. She was about to admit defeat when a thought struck her. She mixed several numbers around, pairing them with the one beneath it. She tried that. It was still odd. "What if I…?"

She pulled out all of the consonants, setting them in their own special column. Sam watched as she paired them up and blinked when she arranged the code, quickly translating it.

Sam took the paper from Jazz and tried out the code. Jazz watched as the girl's face twisted from curiosity to alarm. She looked over to see what had been written.

_**KATHERINE**_

_**MAGNUSSON**_

_**IS**_

_**ALIVE**_

* * *

**Dun dun dun! How many of you guessed that? **

**So, I debated whether or not to post my code, then I decided that I should, so tah-dah, here's my code! To understand it, the first letter is the end result, the second letter is where the first letter is now positioned in the alphabet, and the number at the end is the second letter's number of the alphabet that has been used to represent the first letter. Confusing? You'll understand in a moment.**

**A - E - 5  
B - C - 3  
C - D - 4  
D - F - 6  
E - I - 9  
F - G - 7  
G - H - 8  
I - O - 15  
J - K - 11  
K - L - 12  
L - M - 13  
M - N - 14  
N - P - 16  
O - U - 21  
P - Q - 17  
Q - R - 18  
R - S - 19  
S - T - 20  
T - V - 22  
U - A - 1  
V - W - 23  
W - X - 24  
X - Y - 25  
Y - Z - 26  
Z - B - 2**

**This code will be used again in the future, just so you are aware.**


	14. Distraction

**You can blame my cabin mates for how this turned out. Dear lord, it was a crazy first week! (I was surprisingly able to write quite a bit of the past couple of chapters and the next one during that time.) **

**Most of this chapter was edited very early this morning as I was chatting with that group so… yeah, I don't doubt that there's a few things wrong with this. I did go back over it and I didn't see any, so hopefully… :D**

**Life has pretty much revolved around camp this past month, so nothing exciting is really happening with me.**

**Next week, the chapter will be posted on Tuesday due to some complications. Mostly me being out of town on the weekend. The chapter's written but I'll be focusing on my math class for that evening. I thought I'd be kind and let you all know ahead of time.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 14**

**Distraction**

"_**By the way, my name's Rose Hathaway. I'm seventeen years old, training to protect and kill vampires, in love with a completely unsuitable guy, and have a best friend whose weird magic could drive her crazy.**_

_**Hey, no one said high school was easy." Richelle Mead,**_** Frostbite**

"Sam?"

Jazz's voice caught Danny's attention. Tucker, sitting across from him, also looked up and over to the two girls. They both saw Sam looking unusually pale, sitting on the ground, and Jazz standing over her, looking confused.

"What happened?" Tucker asked, sliding out of his chair. Danny followed his lead.

"She read this." Jazz said, holding out the paper. She handed it over to the them, Danny grabbed it. He held it up for both him and Tucker to see.

His eyes widened at the words. He crumbled up the paper and walked over to a desk, setting the ball in an ashtray, that laid on the wood surface. He dug out a box of matches and struck one. He set the paper aflame and watched as it burned down to ashes.

Sam had told him and Tucker where the matches were. They had all agreed to only reveal things to one another and then burn whatever they learned. It was the safest thing they could think of. None of them had magic like Mr. Lancer. Heck, even _Valerie_ could masquerade information in her state. For the moment, it was the best they could do.

He looked over at Jazz. She had no idea what those words meant or how _ridiculous_ they sounded. But also how completely possible it was for someone like Katherine Magnusson to be alive. Their world was a strange one, after all. Nothing was ever as it seemed for them. Dead people could come alive at any moment. This was his new normal.

Danny walked over to the table and picked up Sam's tea. He could smell the pungent brewed tea leaf that he had grown familiar to associating with Sam. It was her favorite type that she specifically had made just for her liking. He never really drank the concoction before being around her. He found that he quite liked it.

"Here, Sam." he said, holding out the cup to her. "Drink this. It'll help you focus."

She took it from him and downed its contents in one go, puckering her lips when she was done.

"That needed a little bit more sugar in it." she said.

He chuckled. She was back to normal. Mostly. He caught the haunted look in her eyes and he knew that they were thinking the same thing:

_How could Katherine be alive?_

* * *

Jazz watched as the teens got back to work with… whatever it was they were doing. Really, she had no idea what was going on. Things were fairly normal up until she decoded what Sam had shown her.

She looked over at her brother and his friend. They had taken the rest of Sam's notes and burned them. What they did with the ashes, she didn't know. Danny and Sam brought them out of the room and took care of them. She thought she heard running water, but she wasn't positive.

While they were out of the room, and Tucker was facing away from her, she opened one of the books on the table. It was an old thing, the leather cover cracking in a few spots. It smelled of old paper and mold. She found it comforting.

She opened the cover, revealing yellowed pages and handwriting in black ink. The script was elegant, airy and easy to read. But the words…

Jazz scrunched her brow.

"_To my dear descendents_," it read. "_This book is for you to pore yourself over and learn about your ancestry. This is for you to learn our ways and about our world. It is a way to connect to those who came before you. _

"_This book is your history. This book is your future. This book can make you rise above all others, or it can make you fall. Use this book with caution, for we, and others like us, are ones who are most feared. We are the Necromancers._

It was signed by Katherine_._

She frowned. Was this the same Katherine that was in Sam's code? But that wasn't possible. This book was old. As in, it should be in a _museum_ old. Why would Sam have it?

A thought struck her. Danny had mentioned something about "Necromancers" earlier that evening. What was it he had said?

"They can summon the dead and send them back."

She scrunched her nose. Necromancers weren't real. They were a part of cults and other organized religions. …Right? She really had no clue. Religion wasn't something that her family talked about very much, not that she had much interest in any of them. To her, it was all a system of belief for people who needed something to believe in. There wasn't any real evidence that any of them were correct anyway. Besides, they were used to motivate people into fighting in wars with useless causes.

Jazz went back to the book. She flipped through the pages. There were many interesting things in there; fairies, dwarves, werewolves, vampires… All nonsense. All fictitious.

She read another passage.

"…_are creations of those who have died, usually Soothsayers or Faeries. Because of this, they are hunted by their own kind…_"

Was she even supposed to be reading this book? More than likely not. What if they caught her reading this book?

She peeked up and saw Tucker was still reading. She sighed. She was safe for the moment. She went back to flipping through the book. There was a lot of unusual things in it, she decided.

Danny and Sam came back, Danny holding the ashtray. He set it back down on the desk. The two of them returned to the table Tucker was sitting at, still poring himself over the large tome he and her brother had been reading earlier. She wondered if it held more on the subjects of the one she had opened in front of her.

She bit her lip, closing the book slowly so they wouldn't hear it or see it. She buried it back under the books that had been on top of it. Deciding that she didn't want to sit still, lest she fall asleep, she got up and walked around.

Most of the shelves were lined with books without titles. Many of them were as old or older than the one hidden on the table. Jazz began to wonder if all of the Manson books were ancient or just the ones in this library — presuming there was another library, something she didn't doubt.

A scrape of a chair on the ground made her turn around. Danny looked a little shifty as he stood up. Tucker and Sam looked at him, confused.

"Um, I have to go wash my…" Danny said. Jazz saw the look he had. It was the one where he was listing things off in his head as he tried to make up an excuse. He was going to lie? To her? "Socks."

Yep, he was going to lie to her. When did he start lying to her?

She shrugged it off and acted as if nothing weird was going on. This was probably normal for them.

They were quiet for five minutes until a yelp and a thump echoed through the house. All three of them looked up and to the door, none of them quite sure what to do. Sam stood up.

"I'll go see if he needs help washing his… socks." she said.

Jazz and Tucker looked at one another, and he shrugged.

"Hee hee." he said nervously. "Crazy kids."

* * *

Danny groaned. He did _not_ know this ghost. It wasn't like the Box Ghost or the Lunch Lady. This ghost was wearing _advanced armor technology_. He did not appreciate being blasted, either. Whoever this ghost was, he was a hunter.

He charged at the ghost, who was ready for the assault. Danny was once again hit backwards by an energy blast from a wrist rocket. He managed to avoid collision with a wall by going intangible. The ghost followed him through.

"Well, Soothsayer," he said, "you are proving to be an easy target. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Yeah! Eat Fenton Wrist Ray."

Both Danny and the ghost looked up in time to see Sam shoot the little device off. He wondered when she had gotten it. He had no doubt that she stole it from his parents, not that they'd really mind…

The wrist ray packed quite a punch, knocking the ghost back. The assailant slammed into the wall, leaving a good dent.

Danny winced, smiling. She always came in the nick of time.

"Great save." he said, offering her his fist. She pounded it with her own.

"Thanks." she said. "Always here to save my knight in shining armor."

"Are we still going on about that?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm never going to let you live that down, just so you know."

Before Danny could react, both he and Sam were caught in a net. They ended up in a heap of tangled limbs sliding across the floor in the oddly glowing lattice.

"Ha!" the ghost cried victoriously. He lifted his wrist and spoke into a device. "The Soothsayer and the Necromancer have been detained. What's my next move?"

"Deliver them to me." came the reply. "You know why I want them and what I want for them. Deliver them to me and I'll let her go."

The voice on the other end sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place where he had heard it before. He knew it hadn't been that long ago. He wondered where… He shook his head. He'd have time for that later.

Danny tried to fire off an ecto-energy beam with his finger but it just bounced back, zapping Sam in the arm. She hissed and slapped a hand over the tend spot.

"Shit." he said. "You okay? Let me see it."

The spot was red but it didn't look bad, no different than an oddly placed sunburn. He gently touched it. She jerked back at his light touch, he noted, but she eased back into it just as quickly.

"Your hands are cold." she said, as if surprised.

"Yeah, that's the thing about being a Soothsayer. I'm part dead, remember?"

"Jeeze," the ghost said, "are you two lovebirds done flirting?"

"We're not lovebirds!"

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

The ghost took them to a house hidden in the forest. It was slowly crumbling and was long abandoned. Danny felt something tighten in his chest. That kind of building was _always_ where bad things would happen in the movies, and his life, since becoming a Soothsayer was something directly _out_ of a movie.

He gulped and tried to give Sam more room, but — seeing as how they were flying in a net carried by a ghost — it wasn't an easy task.

"Stop making the net sway." Sam mumbled.

Danny looked over to her. Her face was tinged a little green.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not a big fan of heights. Never have been, never will be."

"…It's because you're short, isn't it?"

"What does that have to do with _anything_?" she snapped.

He made note that when she wasn't feeling all too well she was easily angered.

"Pretty much a lot of things." he said "You have a longer way to fall than a tall person, so you'd be a bit more afraid of heights. Plus, you can't fly."

She tried to punch him, but with the little given space they had, she made do with a slap on his cheek.

"When we land, I'm doing to rip your limbs off." It wasn't just an empty threat, either.

"Really, you two are _constantly_ flirting." the ghost said. "Don't you ever shut up?"

"Let me out of here and I'll rip your ears off so you don't have to hear us." Sam said. She reached up and swiped at him, missing by a lot.

"Stop swaying the net." Danny told her. "You're afraid of heights. What if the rope holding us snaps."

That got her to stop moving. She turned to him, her face even more green and her eyes very wide.

Before either Sam or the ghost could react, Danny grabbed her wrist and set off the wrist ray, severing the rope holding them up. The ghost gaped as they fell. Sam didn't have any time to scream.

Danny looped his arm around Sam's waist and untangled them from the net. He flew them away from their destination. Before they could get very far, he was zapped in the back, slamming both him and Sam into a tree.

Dazed, both teens groaned. They would both be feeling that later.

"That was stupid of you." the ghost said, landing nearby. His joints groaned as his knees compressed. "You weren't going to get very far."

"I hate going old school but," Sam said, whipping out a black painted jar. She chucked it at the ghost, "eat pig's blood!"

The glass smashed on his head, drenching him in blood. The ghost did not look amused.

"As Necromancer of Amity Park, I, Samantha Marie Manson, banish thee into the eternal depths of Hell where you will not receive fair trial for your actions." she said.

The portal ripped open and a clawed hand pulled the ghost back to… wherever it was they went. They still didn't know if where she sent those ghosts was the Ghost Zone or whether it was Hell.

"You carry pig's blood around with you?" he asked, wheezing.

"Started to." she said. "Instant portal to… Deadsville."

"Hardy harr harr."

"Come on. I don't want to hang around here without a coat."

"Want to fly back to your house?" he asked, offering her his arms.

"I wouldn't be leaving so quickly if I were you."

They both turned to see a ghost floating above the dried grass. He was dressed in a strange outfit from the 80s with his dark hair slicked back into what appeared to be horns reminiscent of Maleficent from Disney's _Sleeping Beauty_. His eyes were piercing red. And the smirk on his face was frightening.

"Who —" Danny started. The ghost finished the question.

"Am I?" He chuckled. "Call me_ Plasmius_."

"You wouldn't happen to have any more blood with you, would you?"

"Nope." Sam said, preparing herself for a fight. "And we don't have a thermos."

"Perfect."

* * *

"What's taking them?" Jazz asked.

"Maybe they're making out?" Tucker suggested.

"Puh-lease. Neither of them are ready for that kind of relationship yet, least of all with one another."

"You sure?"

Jazz looked at Tucker, his eyebrow was raised. She caught on and smirked.

"How much you want to bet?"

"Twenty bucks?"

"You're on."

* * *

It had been Sam's idea to run, to lead the ghost into town and to his parents' house. There was ghost fighting equipment there and a thermos.

They skidded as they turned, winding and weaving their way through the streets and alleyways.

"How much further?" Sam panted.

"If you let me fly us there," Danny said, still in ghost-form, "we would _be_ there by now."

"I am _not_ flying again tonight. We fell one too many times."

"I wouldn't let you fall."

She glared at him and almost ran into a lamp post. If it hadn't been for his quick thinking, she would have been knocked backwards. He would have let that happen to her if the chase was under more normal circumstances and a ghost wasn't after them.

They continued on, Danny changing back into his human-form when they were on his home street.

"_What?_" Sam heard Plasmius gasp.

She dared to peek over her shoulder and saw that he had stopped. She grabbed Danny's arm and halted his running. He jerked her forward, nearly causing her to bump into him.

"What's the matter, _Plasmius_." she teased. "Never seen a Soothsayer before?"

"Things, my dear," he said, "just got interesting."

A blast from behind the teens caused them to jump. They recognized the sound, though, as one of the Fenton's inventions. It was a pity they had been interrupted. If they had been able to get the ghost to talk longer maybe they would have learned who had sent the other ghost after them.

"Get back here, you ghostly fiend!" Jack Fenton cried out.

"Well, I better be going, ta~!" Plasmius said, saluting them.

"Oh no you don't!" Maddie said, chasing after the ghost and firing, nearly getting him every time. "Darn it. Are you kids alright?"

"We're fine, mom." Danny said.

"What are you kids doing up so early?"

"Um…" Sam said. "I didn't want to be home alone?"

"You could have stayed over at our house." Maddie said. "It'd be perfectly fine with us. You could take Jazz's bed."

"But, where would she sleep?" Danny asked. "I already have the couch."

"You'd sleep on the floor, Danny, to be a gentleman."

Danny frowned and Sam hid a smile behind a hand and a cough. He shoved her playfully. She shoved him back.

"We missed the ghost, Maddiekins." Jack said, sounding disappointed. "If only we had gotten out here in time."

"Is that my wrist ray?" Maddie asked, grabbing Sam's hand and examining the piece of equipment strapped there.

"I, uh, I…" she stuttered. She had never had to lie to a friend's mom before. When she first met the woman, sure she'd have no problem. Her parents? They were her parents, she was _supposed_ to lie to them. It was written somewhere in the children's code. Jazz? To protect a friend, she'd do anything. But a friend's parents? Never. No way in hell could she do that to them.

"I didn't want her to run around Amity unprotected." Danny said, stepping in. "With all the ghost attacks going on and this being one of the newest, I thought that it's be okay. It _is_ okay, right?"

"Of _course_ it's okay." Maddie said. "You're such a good boy, Danny, looking out for your friends. Don't we have such a good boy, Jack?"

"So, how'd this little do-dad work for you?" the man asked, poking his head over his wife's shoulder.

"It worked fine. We were able to knock out another ghost —"

"Another ghost? Where?"

"In the forest —" Sam said, starting to point in the direction they had come from. At least, she _thought_ they had come from.

Jack and Maddie took off, leaving the two teens in the street. Neither of them had time to tell the two adults that the ghost would be long gone.

The sun started to rise, painting the sky orange, red, and pink. Sam hadn't realized how early it was. Had they stayed up practically the whole night again? It would be a long day at school today.

"We should probably get back to your house." Danny said. "We left Tucker and Jazz there all alone. Who knows what they could have done when we were gone."

"Okay. So long as we don't fly." she said.

Danny rolled his eyes, changed into his ghost-form, and scooped her up. She yelped and smacked the back of his head.

"Ow!" he said. "You know, I could drop you."

"I said no flying!" she snapped. And she added pathetically, "Besides, you said you said you'd never let me fall."

Although she didn't get a reply, she thought that she saw Danny smile.

True to his word, he didn't allow her to fall, nor did he joke about dropping her. It was his way of getting her to trust him. And to release her viselike grip around his neck.

He turned them both intangible and through the wall. They wound up in a downstairs tearoom. Danny jumped when he heard his sister's voice.

"Tucker, we've checked every room in this house and we _still_ haven't found them." they heard Jazz say through the door. "What makes you think that they are even down here?"

"Um…" Tucker said. "A wild guess?"

"They probably left the house an _hour ago_."

Danny and Sam looked at one another. What were they going to do? What could they say they've been doing this whole time?

She looked about nervously and found nothing. She looked up at Danny and, without any second thought, slammed her lips onto his.

* * *

**Yeah… Fake-out Make-out! XD**

**I couldn't help myself. This chapter sort of turned up being blatant fluffy shipping for Danny and Sam. I didn't intend for that, honest. It just sort of… fell out as I was writing. (Which reminds me, never type these things when you're slaphappy. You end up with weird notes.)**

**I've been listening to Nightmares for a Week. Pretty rad band. You should check them out. ;)**

**For those wondering about Jazz, I get into that later on. To those who forgot who Katherine is, she's Sam's ancestor. (I think I addressed that within the chapter. I can't seem to remember at the moment. Slaphappy sleepy.)**

**For those who are wondering why this was posted so early in this morning, you can blame DB-KT for keeping me awake. Go bother her for awhile. Especially for the next installment for GRCDP. Poke her needlessly. (She's going to hate me for that. XD)**


	15. Help

**So, I had a wedding to go to this past weekend and, although I had this written, I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time to edit. We're all good again.**

**By the way, remember that collection of oneshots I had you vote on a while ago (last month, if I remember correctly)? Well, expect it up when this fic is done. Updates with that will be sporadic at best. Mostly because I have to think about when I'm going to start posting the second book for this. We'll see, I suppose.**

**Camp NaNoWriMo for April is almost over. I wonder if my cabin mates will continue to attend out nightly chats…**

**3 May 2013 edit: I fixed an error that was pointed out by itsbeenasecret. Thank you, by the way.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 15**

**Help**

"_**When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing, and face us with the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares." Henri J. M. Nouwen, **_**The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey**

"A fake-out make-out?" Tucker said, laughing as they walked to school. He nearly toppled over several times. Danny had the courtesy to catch him before he fell, but Sam was not feeling as kind.

"Just let him hit his head." she said, scuffing the ground with her boot. She pulled her coat closer to her body and shuddered. "Is it just me or is it getting colder out?"

"Well, it _is_ fall. You know when the leaves fall off trees?" Tucker plucked a leaf off the ground and tossed it in the air. They watched as it swirled downward before sliding to a stop on the cement.

"I don't like the fall. It's cold and dreary and it means that Halloween is coming."

"What's wrong with Halloween?" Danny asked. "I thought that being a Goth and everything that you'd like it."

"Oh, as any teen, I love getting dressed up like and idiot and getting free candy." she said. "But as a Necromancer, I loathe it."

"Why?"

"He hasn't known about this stuff as long as we have, Sam." Tucker said. How could she forget that? He knew that it felt like the three of them had always been friends, but that didn't mean that they were all knowledgeable on the old fairy tales he, Sam, and other children like them had been told. "He doesn't know about what could happen on Halloween."

"What could happen?" Danny asked curiously.

"Legend has it," Sam began.

"Legend always has to do with something or other in this world, doesn't it?" The dark-haired teen looked at his friends, blinking his blue eyes. When he saw Sam's annoyance, he winced. "Continue."

"Legend has it, that on a Halloween, if a Necromancer, a Soothsayer, an Alchemist, a Witch, and an ancestor are gathered in one place, then the Dark One will be freed."

"That's it? 'The Dark One will be freed'? Not a very ominous legend."

"I shortened it."

"By a lot." Tucker said. "What she forgot to mention was that it involves a blood ritual and the container holding the Dark One."

"So, who is this Dark One?" Danny asked. "He doesn't sound very scary."

"No one knows." Sam said, brushing her hair behind her ears. "He could be anybody."

"The most popular myth is that he's a fallen hero. He fought valiantly to save his friends and his loved ones, but when they died, he just gave up all hope and destroyed everything he could.

"Another popular version is that he was Reaper who witnessed a violent murder of a young woman at the hands of his own father. At the sight of her body in the blood, he was driven insane. He killed his father and all of his followers.

"In all versions, there is one consistent ending, whoever the Dark One is, he gets sealed in a metal container and sent to hell. A power ghost guards him and he won't allow anyone near the container."

"But it's just a stupid story." Sam said. "No ghost is that powerful to hold onto an ancient evil thus entire time."

"What if he's already released?" Danny asked.

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked, scrunching his brow. What was Danny getting at?

"That ghost from this morning. What if Plasmius is the Dark One?"

"Great," Sam muttered. "Not only do we have to worry about Katherine being alive and well, but now we have to worry about an ancient evil? I really had hoped to get a normal life when I moved to Amity."

"We'll talk to Lancer about it after class." Danny said.

"He'll going to be hard on us. We haven't had any training sessions in a while."

All three of them groaned. The probably weren't going to be getting any breaks.

"It's probably for the best." Danny sighed. "We've been slacking."

"…You call fighting and fleeing from ghosts slacking?" Sam asked.

"Wait, when did you two fight ghosts?" Tucker asked.

"Last night… early this morning."

"So, before the fake-out, make-out."

Sam punched him arm, making it tingle and go numb.

"Um, _ow_!" he said. "Geeze, you don't have to hit so hard. Man, I feel sorry for any ghosts who faced you in the past."

"Ghosts I faced in the past didn't have a ghost portal to get to me. Which makes me wonder what those two ghosts wanted last night. They seemed to be working together."

"Yeah," Danny said, "I noticed that too. Do you think they wanted something?"

"That one in the armor was obviously sent to capture us for the other one." she said. "Plasmius was his name right? Maybe we should question the Box Ghost the next time he shows up."

"As if he would have any answers." Tucker snorted. "He probably couldn't work his way out of a cardboard box!"

"Stop making fun of him. He's probably the only way we can get any answers."

"So, how do we find him?"

"We don't." Danny said. "We let him find us. Ghosts like Sam's glow, so we just wait until he comes. A moth to a flame."

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Mr. Lancer did not show up for school that day. In fact, he hadn't even called in to let anyone know that he would be absent.

As Amity Park was a small town and rumors flourished in such an environment, various theories popped up throughout the day.

Some people claimed he was kidnapped by aliens, others said he was taken in for questioning by a secret government department, and still a group strongly believed that he had been taken by a group of ghosts.

Tucker believed the latter. It was the most probable, after all. Several ghosts knew that their teacher was mentoring them, and that he was the reason they were getting stronger.

Honestly, Tucker had never imagined being able to do what he could under his mother's tutelage. He had far surpassed anything she could do years ago. She had to find books to teach him, specially ordered from some of her friends.

He shook his head and went back to what he was supposed to be doing, keeping a look out for the Box Ghost.

It didn't take long for him to come show up in Amity Park. In fact, he reared his head later that evening. He was easily taken down and captured.

"You cannot contain me in your cylindrical container for long." he cried from inside the Fenton Thermos.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tucker muttered. "So… how does this questioning thing work?"

"Good cop, bad cop." Sam said, cracking her knuckles and other finger joints. Both boys winced at the sounds. Sam scooped the thermos from Danny's hands and shook it. "Okay, listen up, we have a couple of questions. You be good and I don't shake this thing. You be bad and, well, you'll be chucking up ectoplasm for a week."

"You can't make me talk." the Box Ghost said.

Sam rattled the thermos. Danny took it from her, rolling his eyes. Tucker watched the whole thing, recording it all on his phone. He was glad he downloaded that app earlier. He checked the time. He still had an hour until curfew. He hoped this wouldn't take forever. He was hungry for his mother's pot roast.

It had taken both his parents by surprise when he said he would be staying later at school for some tutoring. And they had been pretty irked, too. They had sent various forms of messages to Mr. Lancer, begging him to let their son leave earlier from the "school activities." The teacher had persuaded them that what Tucker was doing would be helping many people. Thankfully, they bought it. He hoped they never learned the truth about what he was doing.

He hadn't told them that he had met a Necromancer or that Danny was a Soothsayer and Valerie was a witch and she didn't know it. His mother, a born Alchemist, would demand to meet Sam and test Danny's abilities. He didn't know what she'd try on Val.

His father was a human and not completely ignorant to their world. He had accidentally stumbled upon Tucker and his mother a long time ago, back when Tucker was still being trained by his mother in Alchemy. He had been rather anxious about this revelation and for some time afterwards, Tucker thought they would be getting a divorce. Eventually, the man came around and grew interested in a few things about their lives.

His mother hadn't told his father everything, like the war between the Necromancers and the Reapers than was still going on, and how Alchemists were a part of it, no matter how much they tried to escape it. He didn't know their history, just that it was long and there was a lot of persecutions and murders. It was better that way and safer. Who knew what would happen if anyone found out that a civilian knew about this stuff?

He shook his head, trying not to think about it. It could end up being bad.

Tucker turned his attention back to his friends and their questioning of the Box Ghost. This was one of the few times he was happy that the Fentons created more than one thermos. The one they had at the moment was the backup one. He wondered what happened to the original. Jack and Maddie probably had it stored away somewhere, trying to figure out why it suddenly started working.

"What can you tell us about a ghost named Plasmius?" Danny asked.

The Box Ghost was silent for a moment. Sam was about to grab it from her friend's grasp when he spoke.

"There is no ghost named Plasmius." he said.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. "Of course there is. We were _attacked_ by him, so don't go telling us there is no ghost named Plasmius."

"He's not a ghost!"

"What do you mean?"

"Plasmius is not a ghost. He's a Soothsayer."

* * *

Jazz peeked out into the hallway, listening for anyone coming up the stairs. She could hear her parents and Mr. Masters talking down in the lab. Their voices were greatly muffled and she couldn't hear any specifics, but she could discern who was would be out with Sam and Tucker for some time.

She looked around nervously as she dug out an old shoebox from underneath her bed. It was the one place in the house where she could hide something completely secret to the rest of the family.

Moments ago, she had locked her bedroom door, closed the shades, and turned on some New Age meditative music that she had bought earlier that year with her allowance. She had originally planned to start meditating to help with the stress of her parents but she had gotten sidetracked somewhere along the way.

She felt guilty about taking the object hidden in her shoebox. It belonged to the Mansons after all and she doubted that any of them would notice one missing book. Besides, she thought it might help her to understand what her brother was going through.

After reading a bit of that book earlier that morning, she started to think that Danny might actually be planning on joining whatever cult Sam was involved with.

She took the book out and carefully laid it on her desk. It was a leather-bound thing that was no doubt oiled a long time ago.

Cautiously, Jazz opened the book and gently lifted the pages with a pair of tweezers she had nabbed from her parent's lab when she got back from school. It was an agonizingly slow process but she had learned to be extremely patient over the years.

She wasn't quite sure at the contents of this book but it was smaller than the one she had looked at when she was with Danny and his friends. The cover was a thick leather, undoubtedly greased to keep it looking good. The title page was written in a neat calligraphy. The ink was a dark brown, no doubt the result of its age. The interesting thing about this page was the title itself.

_Reapers: A Guide to Who They are and How to Kill Them_

It was a rather morbid sounding title, but upon scanning the rest of the book, she found the title to be rather fitting. The diagrams on the pages could only be described as disturbing. Especially the one that went along with getting an eye out of a Reaper — who looked _perfectly_ _human_ — using thumbs. She shuddered as she flipped back to the beginning, where most of the history was.

She frowned when she realized several pages had been torn out. Did those pages contain something of vital importance? A major hint as to who these Reapers were?

"Reaper" undoubtedly came from the mythical figure associated with death, the Grim Reaper. And even that creature was inspired by the Greek god of death, Thanatos. Did they have anything in common? Perhaps.

Jazz bit her lip. She tried to remember some of her parents' theories on ghosts and how Thanatos fit into them. She hadn't read one the specifically named him in the past couple of years, but surely she could recall _something_.

Shaking her head, she realized that she would have to go and read them later in the evening. She would have to ask her mother for them, seeing as how it had been over a year or two.

She went back to reading the book in front of her. She blinked, realizing there were notes written in the margins. She recognized the handwriting. Sam's. Had she been reading it or had she already done so? What if she noticed that it went missing?

"Shit." Jazz said, immediately slapping her hands over her mouth. She never swore! She looked around. No one had heard the not-so-innocent slip. If Danny had, he would tease her for _years_.

Sighing in relief, she went back to the book, reading Sam's notes as she went along. Most of the text was monotonous and needed some deciphering, not unlike Danny's chicken scratch. The words tended to run together and was sloppy. It was almost as if the writer was afraid they were going to be caught at any moment. Sam's side notes were humorous and added some interesting detail that wasn't even written in the book.

Nothing particularly interesting popped up until the last section.

"_The best way to assure oneself and others that a Reaper is completely disposed of is to remove the head from the body using a blade forged by an Alchemist. Such a powerful blade can only be made for one Necromancer, although others of the same may wield it in times of danger. _

"_One such blade is the Spiritus exterminatore. It was forged by Ariel MacMillan and was a gift to his Necromancer upon her birth. This Necromancer was called Katherine Magnusson…_"

Jazz gaped at the text. That was the _same_ _name_ that she had decoded the night before._ What was going on?_

* * *

Valerie found herself growing to hate the hospital. She had been brought back for a quick checkup. The nurses were nice enough but the place was too sterile. It smelled of bleach and death. It was a horrible place.

Ever since her mother's death when she was young, she disliked anything that reminded her of… _that_. She did her best to repress all of those thoughts. She had been successful for years and now…

Now it was all she could think about.

She shuddered as she stepped through the electronic doors — which she swore crackled with electricity when she entered. The cool air conditioning greeted her. She wondered why it was still on. Shouldn't they set the furnace to kick on soon?

She followed slightly behind her father as they signed in and waited in the sitting area. It was a bit of a wait — if half of an hour could be called a bit — before she was called by a nurse.

Valerie followed the nurse to a secluded room where she was told that the doctor would be there soon. The wait was just as, if not longer than, before. She spent most of her time reading and rereading the posters on the wall.

When the doctor did arrive, the checkup on her health was quick. Was she eating well? Yes. Did she feel any pain anywhere? No. Was she positive? Quite. Could she breathe properly? Yes. Did she have any trouble concentrating in school? No more than usual. When did she last have her menses? She'd rather not acknowledge the answer to that question…

He checked her blood pressure, her joints, and took a sample of her blood. If she waited, he could get the results back to her soon. She waited and her blood returned normal. There was a bit more iron in her blood than there should be, which resulted in a new diet for a short time. He asked for her to do a walk-in sometime next week just to check her progress.

All in all, a fairly normal checkup. Valerie was surprised that he didn't suggest that she stay a while longer to recuperate from the past couple of instances. The nurses and doctors had wanted her stay initially, but she had nearly had a _fit_ when they suggested it, saying that she would recover better at home and amongst her peers. Thus far, she had proven that right and she wanted to keep it that way.

After her visit, she and her father drove home for a few brief moments before her father had to dash off to work. He was running a little late due to the appointment. And so, Valerie found herself quite alone that night.

Looking around the apartment, she decided that it was in need of a good cleaning. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work. She vacuumed the living room and the bedroom, she swept the kitchen and the bathroom, she cleaned the tabletops and the bathtub, she wiped down the fridge with soap and water, she mopped, and she dusted. Two hours later, she was exhausted but her home was clean and she was happy.

Unfortunately, the trash still needed to be taken out. Upon this revelation, she groaned in dismay. Taking out the garbage meant lugging it all the way down the stairs and out into the alleyway on the side of the building, seeing as the building didn't have a shoot for the garbage.

She glared at it for five more minutes before deciding to actually take care of it, making sure she had her key in her pocket first. There wasn't a lot to lug down but the bags were still pretty hefty. She teeter-taughtered down the stairs and out the front door.

She found the garbage bin easily by it's rancid stench. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, tossing the bag over her shoulder and into the bin, where it _thump_-ed when it hit her neighbors' garbage bags and miscellany.

Turning around, she wiped her hands on her jeans. They made slapping sounds as she did so.

"Miss Gray?"

She jumped, automatically going into a defensive stance that she had mastered years ago in case she needed to defend herself.

There were two men looking at her. They did not have a threatening pose but instead fell into a military stance. She relaxed a smidge but kept herself on guard.

"Who's asking?" she said, looking them up and down. They wore white suits and did not look dissimilar to the president's body guards that she had seen in movies and on TV.

"We are Agents L and K." one of them said as they flashed their badges for her to see. "The Department of Supernatural Affairs and Spectral Beings sent us. We've come to talk to you."

"…The department of _what_? I've never even heard of that."

"That's because it is an international government secret." said the other man. "What can you tell us about the day of the attack?"

"I'm not answering any questions." she said with a growl. "Government or not, you just don't approach a girl in an alley."

"Miss Gray," said the first man, "we are not asking to talk to you. Your government _demands_ it. If you want to keep the peace in this country, you will."

"And if I don't?"

"Your father might be short one job."

She opened her mouth to retort but immediately shut it. These guys could get her dad to lose his job? But…

No, she wouldn't think about that. They needed his job to keep them afloat, and they were barely keeping from going under as it was.

"Where are we going to talk?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning to one side. "I'm not going with unless I'm in a comfortable setting."

They looked at each other, not sure how to respond no doubt.

"Er," the first man said, "Starbucks? There was one just around the corner."

Valerie nodded. She knew the one. She had never been to it. Spending money on frivolities wasn't in her budget.

"Lead the way." she said, gesturing for them to walk ahead of her.

They started in the direction of the Starbucks. She followed them at a distance, to give herself a chance to run off if she felt threatened. She noticed that they weren't the only ones from the Department of… whatever the hell it was. She really didn't care, in all honesty. But they had planned for her to run. It was obvious that they needed her for some reason.

But what?

They got to the Starbucks without any incident. She noticed how, instead of the regular employees in black uniforms, there were more people dressed in white. Were these guys with them too? Sheesh!

"Do you want something to… drink?" one of the agents asked.

"A grande mocha frappe without foam. Whipped cream, please." she said. She may not like these guys but she was raised with some manners, at least.

She waited for her order, which they paid for, along with two ice waters for them. She raised her brows at them but said nothing. They were probably on a strict diet so they couldn't have the delicious caffeinated beverage.

"So," she said, sitting down at one of the cushioned chairs, "you said that you wanted to talk. What about?"

"We have a proposal." said one of the agents. "You attend Casper High School correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you know Jasmine Fenton, aged seventeen, and Daniel Fenton, aged fifteen?"

"Uh-huh." she said slowly. "We have several classes together. I'm actually working with Danny and a few friends on a school project."

"Good." said the second agent. "This will make our job easier. We need you to go to the Fenton household and locate something for us. Seeing as you have clearance to a place we do not, no one should give you any trouble."

"And what do you want me to find for you?"

"The Fenton Ghost Portal. It is a device that allows a person to see into the ghost world."

Valerie looked from one to the other, then to the other agents watching the exchange. None of them showed any emotion. Seriously? How could they not crack a smile at the words "ghost portal?" They had to be joking. This had to be an extensive prank of some sort.

"No deal." she said. "Ghosts don't exist and neither do portals into the 'ghost world.' I'm not going to go to Danny's house to look for something that doesn't exist."

"Miss Gray," said the first agent, "I don't think you understand what we could do for you if you agree to work with us."

"I don't want anything you could offer me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Not even giving your father his previous job position?"

They could _do_ that?

If they could, it meant that she wouldn't need to work anymore. It meant that she could be a part of the popular crowd again. It meant that she would have money to spend. It meant that she wouldn't have to hang with Danny and Sam and Tucker anymore…

She bit her lip. She _liked_ hanging out with them. They were nice and accepted her easily into their group. They opened their closed circle just for her. They wanted her to hang out with them. They wanted to be her friend and she theirs'.

And she and her father were making do. Sure life was hard, but she realized that they had one another and, as corny as it sounded, that was all that mattered. But she also knew that he wanted to go back to that position. If she had to opportunity to give it to him…

"You got a deal." she said.

* * *

**Hopefully everything flowed in this chapter. I had some cut-and-paste parts that weren't originally there in the first writing but I wrote a couple of days ago when I thought I had lost everything to my computer almost dying on me again. (cue panic attack) But I fixed it. :D I'm awesome, I know.**

**I wanted to add more to this chapter when I originally wrote it, but upon editing there was just too much information to be revealed. So, this chapter and the next were originally one whole chapter. XP**

**I have a paper to take care of a couple of fics to work on. I'll try to have some fun. XD  
**


	16. Discoveries

**Chapter 16. Holy hell. I didn't think I would ever write this much when I first started. And now… well. You'll just have to see where everything goes next. It'll be a rather exciting journey.**

**I have a few plot bunnies running rampant around here. I think I might have to take my gun out and start shooting a few. Metaphorical gun, of course. I can't shoot anything to save my life. Except, of course, with a bow and a couple of arrows. I learned how to do that not to long ago. Thanks uncle and aunt I rarely get to see!**

***cocks gun* Say, "Bye-bye," little bunnies. Momma ain't playing nice. Especially when I have several other things to work on.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 16**

**Discoveries**

"_**A fight is going on inside me," said an old man to his son. "It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you."  
The son thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Which wolf will win?"  
The old man replied simply, "The one you feed."  
Wendy Mass, **_**Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life **

Valerie stood nervously outside of the auditorium the next afternoon. She wanted to get that stupid Department of Freakiness's mission is over. If she did this for them, they would somehow get her dad's job back. All she had to do was ask Danny if they could rehearse the scene that afternoon, peek around the house, and find the stupid portal. Easy… right?

Danny and Sam turned the corner and made their way over to her. She wondered if anything really was going on between the two of them, and if there wasn't, what was wrong with them? They really suited one another.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Danny was obscenely gentlemanly. He was also polite and kind, putting other's needs before his own. He'd open doors and pull out chairs. He'd ask the right questions at the right time. And he had a nice smile.

Sure he was on the shy side, but what was wrong with that? Shy guys were the best. She liked them that way.

"Not the time to be thinking about boys." she muttered to herself.

"Hey, Val." Danny said, waving to her.

Sam smiled and nodded.

"Were you waiting for us?" the Goth asked.

"Huh, oh…" she said. "I was wondering if you'd like to run lines this afternoon. We have that project due for Shakespeare on Friday and all…"

"I'll tell Lancer to hold off on your lessons until tomorrow." Sam said, patting Danny on the arm as she brushed by Valerie to enter the classroom.

They both watched her go.

"So…" Danny said, scratching his neck.

"Rehearsal this afternoon at your place?" Valerie suggested.

"That's fine with me."

"Great. Okay. Right. We'll meet up in front after school ends?"

"Okay."

Danny smiled and walked into the classroom just as the bell was about to ring. When he was gone, Valerie heaved a sigh of relief. Phase one was complete.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

When the school day was over, she gathered her things from her locker and tucked what she'd need in her backpack. She was surprised to find that she had very little homework, just her Shakespeare book and her math book.

Nervously, she closed her locked, twisting the lock to ensure it couldn't be opened easily. Valerie headed out to the front of the building.

She was starting to rethink the deal she made with those men. Sure, it would make her dad happy again, but she might lose her friends. What would she do then? Join back up with Paulina, Dash, and the rest? They weren't exactly nice.

Why were these decisions so hard to make?

She was surprised to see Danny waiting for her. When he saw her, he waved her over to him.

"Jazz is going to drive us home." he said. "She has some stuff to pick up before going over to one of her partners' houses to work on their own performance."

"Okay, then." she said, shrugging off her bag and setting it down next to his.

The two of them chatted about the scene they had to act out while they waited.

"Ew."

Danny and Valerie turned to see Paulina staring at them with a look of disgust twisting her pretty features.

"Since when do you two hang out?" she asked.

"Since the first day of school." Danny said.

"You really pay attention, Paulina." Valeria said, rolling her eyes. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now. Really, Paulina could get on anyone's nerves very quickly just by the sound of her voice.

"I pay more attention that you think, Valerie." Paulina shot back. She looked Danny up and down. "What about your little Goth girl? Did you move on from her that quickly?"

Danny looked confused, innocently blinking his big blue eyes.

"We're not dating, Paulina." Valerie told her. "We're just going to work on some homework together. That's all."

"Whatever." she said, waving at them as she walked away.

"Why do I have a feeling there's going to be a bunch of rumors about us tomorrow?" Danny asked.

"Because that's how Paulina is. She likes to spread rumors." Valerie said, sighing.

"Hey!"

They both jumped at the sound of a voice. They turned to see Jazz standing there, cradling her books in one arm. She was beaming at them both.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Huh?" Danny said, blinking at his sister. Realization settled in and he nodded. "Yeah, let's go.

Jazz led them to the Fenton RV. She unlocked it as they approached.

Valerie gaped at the monstrous vehicle. Someone could actually _drive_ that thing? Sure she had seen it before but she'd never really gotten close to it.

Danny allowed her to sit up front next to Jazz.

"It's… safer," he said, "than sitting in back."

"Are you saying I'm a reckless driver?" Jazz asked. Valerie picked up a slight teasing tone in her voice. This was one of the few times she'd ever seen them acting like siblings. It was really quite amusing and touching. It made her wish that she had a sibling.

"No," Danny said. "_I'm_ saying that you are your father's daughter."

"You're his son."

"Yeah, but I'm more of a momma's boy." When he realized what he said, he turned to Valerie, looking a little horrified. "Don't… share that with anyone else."

She laughed.

"Anybody else sure." she said. "But Sam isn't just anyone."

A look of sheer mortification spread over his face as all of the color drained from it. His eyes dilated and his mouth fell open. He looked lost and very afraid.

"I'm just kidding, Danny." Valerie said, biting back her giggles. "Sam won't find out."

"Though I'm sure she'd like to know." Jazz said. "She might be interested in momma's boys."

Valerie looked at her, raising a brow. Had Jazz picked up that Danny and Sam might like one another, as well? Undoubtedly. Anyone could tell, except the two of them. Maybe they were oblivious to one another's affections?

Secretly, she hoped so. Danny was a nice guy, and she was starting to grow very attached to him and was wondering what it might be like to be in a relationship with him.

She shook her head. No. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about Danny that way. He was her friend, as was Sam and her loyalty to her friends was worth more than anything else. Except her father.

She felt the guilt build up in the pit of her stomach. She was really going to go through with the deal, wasn't she? She could still back down and really just rehearse the scene…

But what would happen to her and her father…?

"What's wrong, Val?" Danny asked. "You look a little sick."

"Oh." she said, fixing her hair and sitting up straighter. "The medication is probably just wearing off."

"Do you need me to swing by your home?" Jazz asked.

"No. I have some in my bag for emergencies."

It was sort of illegal to bring those types of meds on school property without bringing them to the nurse but Valerie didn't think the school would mind as much. She _had_ fainted in the hallways, after all. Plus, she was in the top ten of her class. She highly doubted that she would get into any serious trouble, just a warning and a slap on the wrist.

She looked at the little assortment of pills in the little organizer. It was roughly a half hour too early for her the estimated time she should take them next. She shrugged that off her mind and grabbed her water bottle, easily taking her medication with the cool liquid. She felt it settle in her stomach.

Neither Jazz or Danny said anything until they reached their home.

Valerie, like everyone else at school, knew about Fenton Works. Seeing it and hearing about it were two different things. Were they even safe to go inside with that metal building perched on top? She tried not to think of the ceiling caving in from the monstrosity above as she followed the siblings in.

She didn't care much for the interior but she thought it suited the Fentons quite well. Everything had a very homey and relaxed feel to it.

Jazz dashed upstairs while Danny set his things on the floor by the couch.

"Sorry about the mess." Danny said, fixing the magazines and books on the coffee table. He set them in neat piles in different corners. "My parents have company over and they're usually in the basement or the Emergency Ops. Center."

"…Emergency Ops. Center…?" Valerie asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah." He nervously scratched the back of his neck. "It's gotten really useful due to all the ghost attacks."

"There aren't that many. It's usually the same ghosts from what I've seen."

Danny shrugged.

"So…" He looked around. "Do you need anything to drink? I'm pretty sure we still have some juice left and maybe a few cans of soda in the fridge. I think we also have some pretzels and chips in the pantry…"

"I'm fine, Danny. I won't be hungry for a couple of hours."

"Right. Okay then. So. Balcony scene."

Jazz sprinted down the stairs, carrying a large box. A few things, like a pink feather boa and a stripped hat peaked out from the top.

"Have fun, you two." she said as she ran out the door.

Valerie dug her Shakespeare books out of her bag. There were several, most of them the plays they were going to read this semester and the last the official book that had a limited amount of knowledge on the Bard of Avalon written sometime in the late 90s. She could find more information on Shakespeare Geek's blog. She particularly liked the claim that he was a half human and half Australian Frilled Lizard hybrid.

She flipped open to the scene in the _Romeo and Juliet_ book. Act 2, scene 2. It was an annoying popular scene, probably why their teacher had chosen for them to perform it. The class was small, no more than five or six groups of three total, but most of them were theater geeks, only a small percentage of them took the class for fun. And then there was her, who took it just because she could.

She never got Danny or Sam's reasons but they both probably had an interest in Shakespearean literature, no doubt. It seemed like something they would be interested in.

"Okay, so do you have any idea how Sam wants this thing set up?" she asked.

"I was thinking we just run lines until she can get here." Danny said. "She said that she and Tucker will stop by around four maybe five."

"I thought that she was teaching you guys some self-defense, not working on something with Mr. Lancer."

"Huh? Oh, no, Sam, Tucker, and I are helping Mr. Lancer with this big school project. Something for spirit week at the end of the month. Student council asked for his help on something and we got recruited. Top secret and all that."

Valerie wasn't sure if he was lying. Something about the way he fidgeted told her that he was lying but it sounded very plausible. Jazz was president of the student council and she would happily volunteer her younger brother just to get him involved with something school related. She decided to nod and accept it.

"Okay, can't wait to see it."

He sighed and smiled.

"Great." he said. "Now, this scene…"

Phase two: completed.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words  
Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound:  
Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?" Valerie said, reading the lines off the page.

"Neither, uh, fair saint, if either, uh, thee dislike." Danny said, glancing down every-so-often to see the words.

Valerie had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. They had been at it for around an hour. Danny was still stumbling over his lines and she hadn't had the chance to really look for the ghost portal yet. She was still wondering where it could be.

She decided that there were two plausible locations. The basement with a sign saying "FENTON LAB: KEEP OUT" written in red crayon and caution tape with DO NOT CROSS in big, bold, black letters. Another possible spot was the Emergency Ops. Center. She hadn't found the door to take her up to the roof yet but the basement door she could see quite clearly. If only the door was open, Danny was gone for a little while, and she could drop something down the stairs…

She jumped from her seat when the basement door slammed open. Three people were talking simultaneously, their voices sounding concerned. She couldn't discern what they were talking about over the cacophony of voices but it sounded rather urgent.

"Uh, mom, dad?" Danny said. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Danny." the woman Valerie perceived as Mrs. Fenton said. "Thank goodness you're home. There's another ghost attack in town."

"Where's Jazzy?" a large man in an orange hazmat suit asked.

"She's over at a friends' working on some homework." Danny said.

"Right, you kids stay here while we go take on the evil ghost in town. Coming, Vladdy?"

The man referred to as "Vladdy" she recognized immediately. Not only was he the man who had stopped by that one evening at the Nasty Burger but he was also Vladimir Masters, the man who now owned the fast food restaurant. He was also looking at her.

His gaze made her want to shiver, as it had the first time they met. She returned his gaze with a fierce one of her own. She wasn't ever one to back down and she wasn't about to start now.

"Right," Vladimir Masters said, still looking at her, "evil ghost terrorizing the town. We must make haste."

He turned away from her so quickly, that she nearly fell out of her chair. She counted her blessings that no one was watching her.

She was grateful for when they went on their way without asking many questions. She didn't really like it when people asked her questions. "How are you doing?" or "Are you in pain?" or "What happened?" were starting to annoy her, especially when it came from adults and her peers.

She looked at Danny, who seemed a bit on edge. His leg, she noticed, bounced up and down. Maybe he needed to relieve himself. If he did, this might be her one chance to snoop in the basement.

"If you need to go to the bathroom, go." she said. " Don't let me stop you."

"Huh?" he looked at her incredulously. "Oh, right. Yeah. I'll… be back in a few minutes."

He dashed out of the living room to the bathroom upstairs. She could plainly see the one downstairs from where she was sitting but she shrugged it off.

Looking around, she made for the basement and cautiously tiptoed down the stairs, being extra careful not to step on one that creaked. She made it down without any —

"Ow." she said, hissing as she hit the ground.

She tripped on the last stair, landing in a heap on the floor. She looked down at her hands and winced. The floor was made of polished metal but her hand managed to get nicked by one of the screws that held every piece in place.

She sucked on the scrape and looked around. Her hand dropped from her mouth with an audible 'pop' when she noticed the swirling green circle at the far end.

"Phase three," she said to herself, "is completed."

* * *

**(grins) I like how this turned out. I rewrote this thing sometime of Thursday or Friday because I didn't like how it originally turned out. It's shorter now but it flows a lot nicer. That and the wording is twenty times better.**

**Some of the wording is due to me picking up a Jane Austen novel again and me finishing on **_**The Tempest**_**. Oh crap… I have finals next week. (starts to hyperventilate) This is not good. I must study~! …I'm too lazy to.**


	17. Hands

**Ah, this chapter. This chapter was a pain in my rear. I took some time concocting it before realizing part of it wasn't completely realistic and then having to rewrite it… Blargh. Hopefully I finally got it right.**

**There's the fact that I had my first final today and I did a lot of last minute cramming for it. That's the reason why the editing kind of sucks. XP Thankfully, I was very calm throughout my final and I remembered to triple check all of my work. Thank god I did, I misinterpreted a sign, which **_**completely**_** changed the answer… I'm still shaking from the adrenalin going through me. Math really gets me worked up. XD**

**There's a part in here that's inspired by a conversation between KimuraSato, Panhead13, and myself. B) They know the part.**

**I wrote a sad, very intimate scene for this chapter (the event of which will carry on into the next chapter). I wanted to warn several people now. It may be hard for some people to recognize what happens until late in the chapter but I did try to make it as clear as I could.**

**Happy things, sad thing. Blah.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter of DNC.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 17**

**Hands**

"_**Cowards die many times before their deaths;  
The valiant never taste of death but once.  
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,  
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;  
Seeing that death, a necessary end,  
Will come when it will come."  
William Shakespeare, **_**Julius Caesar **_**(2.2.32-37)**_

Danny silently thanked Valerie as he dashed up the stairs. He had never been more grateful for anything in his entire life.

There was _another_ ghost in Amity Park, and he had no clue as to who it would be. Perhaps it was that Plasmius ghost. Or that hunter one. What was his name again? He really couldn't remember.

He locked the bathroom door behind him and transformed. He felt the familiar surge and smiled. He looked at his reflection, studying his appearance. He never really paid much attention to it before but the white hair and the glowing green eyes were very off-putting. No wonder people ran away, screaming bloody murder, when they saw him…

Danny shook his head and turned intangible, phasing through the wall of his house and flying off in the direction he thought the ghost was. It didn't take him long to find his parents in combat with the Box Ghost.

He sighed. He really didn't need to be there. It was _just_ the most annoying ghost he had ever run into. He decided to stick around in case the ghost caused any more trouble for his parents or another ghost showed up. Highly unlikely but one never quite knew…

"Well, well, if it isn't the little phantom haunting Amity Park."

Danny whipped around and frowned. Plasmius floated at his level, grinning benevolently. He meant trouble for not only him but also for the innocents below. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

"What do you want?" Danny said with a growl. He genuinely wanted to know but something told him that he would not like the answer very much.

"My dear boy, I am here to test you and your abilities." Plasmius said, as if his intentions had been obvious. "A soothsayer like you is very rare."

"And you would know because you are one."

The grin on the other's face dropped into a frown. It was plain he was not happy that his identity had been partially revealed. Danny just wished that he knew who this other Soothsayer was. Something told him that he should look it up in the books in Sam's library.

"Who, might I ask, told you that?" Plasmius asked.

"A little birdie told me." Danny said. "Although how he came back this quickly is kind of a mystery to me."

"By little birdie, you don't mean the Box Ghost do you? Ah, your silence gives me the answers I need. It is a pity I've let him go on this long. I should have eliminated the wretch years ago."

"Destroy? You can destroy ghosts?"

"We both can, Daniel. You just haven't learned how yet." The grin returned to his face as he spoke, sending a shiver down Danny's back and coming out of his mouth in a wave of clear, blue mist. Plasmius's eyebrow raised. "Now that is unusual."

"It's a ghost sense." Danny said. "Which means there's a ghost nearby."

"Interesting."

Danny, who had not been paying attention to his parent's battle, was set flying as the Box Ghost ran into him. The two rocketed off in one direction, cart wheeling as the flew.

Eventually, they stopped. Danny felt his head swim as he tried to regain a normal sense of balance. Closing his eyes did not help. He shook his head and prayed that his equilibrium would even out soon. Handling one ghost was more than enough of a challenge for him, but two ghosts and trying to steer clear of his parent's inventions? That was something he hadn't practiced with Lancer yet.

Before he could make sense of up or down, a bright pink beam of ectoplasmic energy slammed into his stomach and sent him careening into a building. He clutched the injured spot, finding it burned.

Danny winced and looked around for his attacker. He saw a smirking Plasmius with a smoking hand. It was clear who had shot him.

The grown Soothsayer's moment of victory did not last long. Maddie Fenton nailed him with a blast from her bazooka-esque gun. Danny had never felt any prouder of his mother.

"Man that's hot." Jack Fenton said, eyeing his wife.

Danny would have been completely grossed out if the Box Ghost hadn't interrupted the battle.

"I am the Box Ghost." he said, wiggling his fingers in the annoying way he did. "Beware!"

He flew off in one direction, leaving Danny to face off against his parents and Plasmius. The teen looked back and forth between his opponents. He didn't want to hurt his parents, which was obvious to anyone but he had no such regard for Plasmius.

He blinked. Someone was missing. Vlad. He didn't spot the man anywhere. It was as if he just… disappeared into thin air. Where could he have gone?

"Done thinking, boy?" Plasmius asked. It was clear that Maddie's shot had hurt him.

"I was waiting on you." Danny said, smirking a little. Showing a little confidence never hurt anyone… right?

"Stay where you are, ghosts." Maddie said, firing up her weapon. He could hear it charging from his spot in the air. And it was aimed at him…

Danny looked around and dove into a wall, intangible, hoping he wasn't barging in on anything embarrassing. He was lucky, no one was using the bathroom. He stayed intangible as he wandered the apartment. There was no one home. He knew he only had a couple of minutes before his parents or Plasmius found him.

As if he sensed his queue, Plasmius appeared in front of him.

"Now, my boy," he said, "I have you alone at last."

"I'll ask you again." Danny said, "What do you want?"

"Why, to talk. You could learn a lot from me. I could teach you how to use your powers. We could rule the world. Together."

Danny frowned.

"I already have a teacher."

"Ah, the obese Wiccan who has gone bald. It's a pity that he's gone missing."

"What did you do to him?" Danny said with a growl. His hands heated up and glowing ectoplasmic energy surrounded the tight fists he made.

"I personally have done nothing. My associates on the other hand —"

Danny shot a beam at him, knocking the grown Soothsayer into the wall. It had been a hard hit, as the plaster concaved where it had stopped Plasmius. The teen was not surprised when two rings formed around the waist of his opponent but he was taken aback when the other's identity was revealed.

There, in a heap on the floor, was Vladimir Masters.

He did not notice when he parents charged through the apartment door and he did not notice when he was sucked into a thermos.

* * *

Sam sat in her grandmother's hospital room. She had been there for twenty minutes and she already knew she would be getting no sleep that night.

For a while, it had looked like Ida Manson would be able to go home by the end of the month. Then, two days ago she had taken a turn for the worst. It had been more tragic hearing it from the maid, Kate, than her parents who were rushing home and hoping to make it before…

She shook her head. It was inevitable now. Her grandmother had accepted her fate and was ready to die. It didn't matter how much she prayed, there was never an answer and the elderly woman was fading as she watched.

The sunken, hollow look of the woman on the bed frightened Sam. She didn't look the same and she never would again.

Many times, Sam had been tempted to just walk out of the room in order to hold back the tears that pressed against her eyelids. A lump in her throat formed every time she looked at the figure in the bed.

It was during this solitary moments that she wondered about death. It was necessary, true, but she was one of the few who could defy it. She could help her grandmother, but the elderly woman was just as, if not more, stubborn than the girl. She would no doubt find a way to die and stay dead, burrowing away in the realms of the Ghost Zone forever.

She was dragged out of her thoughts by a heavy sigh and a groan.

"Bubeleh?" she asked quietly.

"Sam?" was the reply.

Sam leapt from her chair and grabbed her grandmother's hand, stroking it to let her know she was there.

"Many secrets about you." she said through half-lidded eyes.

"Secrets? What secrets?"

"Do not trust her."

"Bubeleh, what are you talking about? Secrets? Trusting someone?"

"She wants you _dead_. Will use you. Do not trust her."

"You're not making any sense!" Sam felt tears prick at her eyes. She had prayed that her grandmother's last words, her thoughts, wouldn't be senile and cryptic. And yet, they were. She did not want to remember her going that way!

"She is _evil_, Sam. Trust the time guardian. He can help. Danny and Tucker, too. Do not lose them."

"I'm not going to lose them. I promise."

"You are brave." Ida said, smiling lovingly up at the teenager. "Very beautiful, too. Not many will tell you that. The books and I have lied to a beautiful girl. Please forgive me."

"You didn't lie to me." Sam said. "You have never lied to me."

"Promise me that you will burn the books when I die. To protect yourself. The White Ones come to seek their master."

Sam's brow furrowed. White Ones? She had never heard of them before. And their master? A complete mystery. There must have been something important in the books that revealed a vital detail.

"If they get their hands on you, they will show you no mercy. And neither will she, when she reveals herself to you. Promise me, Sam. Burn my books."

"Okay, I promise."

The beeping of the machines grew steadily faster as her grandmother's breaths grew quicker. The sound filled her ears and echoed loudly before it all became too deafening and silence took over.

Sam was pushed out of the room and into the hall. It wasn't until she was sitting in a chair opposite the door did she realize what had happened.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

She sat on her floor near her fireplace, every now and again tossing a book into the flames. She had promised, after all. Besides, her body was too numb to sleep and she needed something to do.

She was waiting for Danny's call. He messaged her and Tucker every night but tonight was the first time he had missed their usual time. She wondered if something was going on at home. She hoped not. She prayed that he called soon, she needed to take her mind off the evening events.

Sam picked up the book that she had found, the one that held her grandmother's notes and the one that informed them all about Danny's powers. She traced her fingers across the cover. She would save this one for a while. No need to destroy it at the moment.

She set the book aside and listened to the night. It was deafeningly silent in the mansion. The only sounds were the crackle and pops of the burning books. Not to mention the Morse Code?

Wait, what?

She listened. Yes it was there again. But… it sounded different. She hurried to her phone and hit the recorder app. The message was longer this time.

The first two words were "Katherine Magnusson" again, she knew that. The next word after that was "is." And following that…

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap._

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap._

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap._

The message repeated again a few more times while she decoded it.

1, 0, 9, 1, 9, 9.

…10 ...9 …19 …9…

…J… I…S… I…

…H …E …R …E…

Here.

"_Katherine Magnusson is here._"

She looked around nervously, tossing the paper into the flames with the still burning books. She added a few more to fuel the flames.

She listened as the message repeated again, but it did not. It changed. She quickly started recording again and translated as quickly as she could.

_Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape._

Pause.

_Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap._

2, 0, 1, 0, 9.

…20 …10 …9…

…T …J …I…

…S …H …E…

She.

Sam went on translating as the message continued. The message was a long one, like the very first one had been.

"_She wants the ampulla._"

…What the heck was an "_ampulla_?"

Her phone beeped, signaling that she had a new message.

She scrambled reached for the device, knocking it off her desk. Grumbling she got up and got it. The message was from Danny, thankfully. She opened it and blinked at the words on the screen.

"_S.O.S.! HELP! STUCK IN THERMOS! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!_"

Stuck in a thermos? How did that happen?

She smiled for the first time that night and dressed in warmer clothes for an excursion outdoors. She was glad all of her clothes were black. They were perfect for sneaking in and out of places.

The reminder of who suggested the attire hung heavily over her head for a moment. She had other things to worry about, like breaking into Fenton Works to free her best friend from one of his parents' contraptions without getting caught.

"That sounded weird." she muttered to herself as she shimmied into a shirt. She shrugged it off. This was her new normal now. Living in Amity Park sure had changed a lot of things.

She easily crept out of her house. The only occupants were herself and the maid, Kate. The maid wouldn't miss her one bit.

She was happy to be out and about, not sulking about with her thoughts and wallowing in mourning. The world was still spinning and right now, she needed that stability.

She slunk down streets and alleyways, bumping into Tucker as she went.

"Hey." she said quietly.

"Hey." he replied, nodding to her. "Got Danny's text?"

"Yep."

"It makes me wonder how he's getting any reception in the thermos. Doesn't ectoplasmic energy interfere with cell phone technology?"

"I have no idea."

They reached the backyard and slid through the hole in the fence, happy that Danny hadn't fixed it yet. The backdoor to the kitchen was unlocked, which was odd but maybe the Fentons figured Danny was out with them and would be back late at night.

Sam quietly tiptoed inside. No alarms went off and she knew they wouldn't unless there was a ghost. The place had ghost fighting equipment built into the walls — something she had learned through one of Jack Fenton's many lectures. That and he wanted a pony but couldn't have one on account of a war. (Which brought her to questioning which war and whether or not the man was truly sane.)

Tucker followed in after her. He was not as quiet or as graceful. He clomped inside and tripped over something near the door. Upstairs, Jack's snores sputtered for a moment before returning to normal.

Sam rolled her eyes and started looking around for the thermos.

"It's probably in the basement." Tucker told her.

She nodded and quietly walked to the door, wincing when the door creaked open. She made her way down, her companion following her. She had never been more grateful for the flashlight app she downloaded shortly after moving to Amity.

The camera flash lit the stairs and the floor, which reflected light back at her. She swept it around the lab, hoping to catch sight of the thermos. It sat rather innocently on one of the countertops.

"Danny?" she whispered, touching the smooth surface.

"Sam? Tucker?" a voice from within the device said. "Is that you? Thank god! This thing is cramped. My legs went numb two hours ago. Wait, I don't have any legs! How did that happen? Oh, whew. There they are. Yeah, my legs are numb."

"Dude." Tucker said, scanning the thermos. "How do we get you out?"

"I… have no idea."

Sam looked at the buttons. One of these had to be the right one…

She pressed one and a light shot forth, sending Danny flying out. He floated for a moment before landing in a heap. Sam bit her lip to stifle her laughter as she set the thermos back on the counter.

"Did you have a nice _fall_?" Tucker said, chuckling.

"I didn't fall." Danny grumbled. "I attacked the floor."

"_Why_ did you attack the floor?" Sam asked, highly amused.

"It looked suspicious."

Sam and Tucker laughed, unable to hold it back any longer. When the light flickered on, they all froze. They'd been caught.

"Danny?"

It was his mother. The woman quietly tiptoed down the stairs and looked at the three teens.

Sam was very glad that she had set the thermos down only moments ago. Being caught downstairs was bad enough, being caught red-handed at let Danny out of the thermos was worse.

"What are you three doing down here?" Maddie asked, pulling her robe closer to her body.

"We…" Danny began, trying to come up with a reason for them being in the lab, an otherwise forbidden spot for anyone outside of his parents.

"They were trying to make me feel better." Sam said. "After what happened earlier this evening…"

Maddie's stern face softened and she brought Sam into a hug, something the teen hadn't received from an adult in some time. It was a great comfort. She allowed herself to melt into it.

"Why don't we go upstairs for a nice hot cup of cocoa, hm?" the woman said, gesturing for them to go into the kitchen. They trailed up the stairs and sat down at the kitchen table whilst Maddie made stovetop hot cocoa.

When she finished boiling the milk and the chocolate chips had melted, she divvied out the concoction and added peppermint sticks for extra flavor. She set the porcelain cups down in front of each of the teens.

"When you're all done, just set the cups in the sink." she said. "There are extra pillows and blankets in the hall closet. Feel free to stay the night, you two. And don't stay up too late. You still have school in the morning."

When they were sure she was upstairs, Danny asked Sam:

"What happened earlier this evening? Did I miss something?"

She bit her lip and turned away, feeling the lump form in her throat. She didn't want to think about that _now_. She nervously sipped the cocoa.

"What happened with Val?" she asked, clearing his throat. It was obvious that she was trying to divert his attention.

"Don't know. She probably went home. Now, what happened earlier this evening?"

"Danny, not right now." Tucker said.

"Sam?"

"…She died."

"Who?"

"Bubeleh. She died."

* * *

**The scene with Sam in the hospital by her grandmother's bedside was inspired by my feelings when my grandfather passed away last year. It's been a rough time for my dad, my uncles, and many of my cousins who were very close to him. **

**I had a very difficult time seeing him lying in his bed, slowly dying. I actually couldn't look at him for a long time. I can't count the number of times I wanted to cry when he refused to eat. He was always so healthy looking, I didn't want to remember seeing him look so… dead.**

**I know there are many other out there who went though similar things when a relative of their's passed on. And I want to comfort those who may eventually go through that. It hurts less as time passes and, while their presence is greatly missed, you learn to take on their role in their memory.**

**I have a final to sort of study for tomorrow. Editing/Production. That'll be fun. And easy. I think I'll do some bookwork to help me.**

**Anyway, Acen is this weekend. I'll be there and I'll be a pretty, broken doll. So much to do this week!**


	18. Deceptions

**FINALLY! XD Again, I apologize for the computer issues and not properly saving this chapter like a normally do. The next chapter will be up at the normal time, I promise. I thank you all for being very understanding. You are all fabulous people with wonderfully big, forgiving hearts.**

**The weekend got pretty busy for me and The last scene was sort of rushed. Forgive me. BUT I had a very clear idea of what I wanted once I looked at my notes. And what's better? It matches up almost entirely with what I had originally wrote! Yay! I just have to work in the ending part of this chapter a little better with the next chapter.**

I would like to post a warning. The "F-bomb" is dropped in this chapter. Once. And the person who says it is rather unexpected. Just wanted to let you know to expect it. This fic is rated-T for a reason, after all.

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 18**

**Deceptions**

"_**What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. We had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, and the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them perfect, and we couldn't expect them to be. You can't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build your world from it." Sarah Dessen, **_**Lock and Key **

The morning was unusually hot for autumn. It was crisp and smelled of burning leaves. The sun was bright and the skies were clear.

It was a perfect day for a funeral.

He learned a lot about a traditional Jewish funeral over the past few days. The preparations, how the viewing of the deceased's corpse wasn't done out of respect, how embalming isn't done unless state law requires it, how flowers weren't really expected… Yeah, he learned a lot.

Tucker felt sweat trickle down his back as he stood off to the side with Danny as they listened to the rabbi talk. They were eventually joined by Sam, an anomaly in white with black trimmings. It was a strangely good look for her.

"I hate cemeteries." she said, her lips snarling upwards. She led the two boys away from the coffin that would be buried within the hour.

"All Necros do." Tucker said. "Too many ghosts. See any?"

Their eyes swept back and forth across the rather picturesque place. He would have liked to be here at any normal time but since the ghost portal incident... He shuddered at the thought. Who knew what could be lurking in the cemetery.

His eyes stopped on a figure lingering at the edge of the trees, just beyond the fence surrounding the burial grounds. When it was spotted, the person ducked further into the shadows.

"Did you guys…?" he asked, trailing off.

"Yeah." Danny said. "Who do you think it could be?"

"Her." Sam said flatly. "Katherine."

"What'd she be doing here?"

"Anyone's guess." Tucker said. "Do you think we should go over and talk to her? I mean, she's here for a reason, after all…"

Sam didn't answer him. She hiked up the long skirt of her dress and marched over. He and Danny looked at one another before they jogged after her to catch up. They flanked her sides, standing as straight as they could.

Tucker hoped he looked courageous, rather than ridiculous. There was no telling, really. He was a nerd, an Alchemist, not a fighter like Danny and Sam. Sure he had learned how to defend himself through Lancer's lessons but he knew it wouldn't be enough should they come to fists with Katherine. He prayed that it wouldn't.

Sam stopped a foot before the fence, eyeing the spot with narrowed eyes.

He noted that the fence was cold iron. An Alchemist's strongest weapon and the greatest hindrance to Soothsayers who could change, like Danny, if he recalled his studies properly.

"What do you want?" Sam asked the shadows. Her fists her clenched. "I know that you killed my bubeleh. It was pretty obvious. What more do you want?"

"She lied to you." a voice from the darkness hissed. It sounded familiar. "She has always lied to you. If she had lived longer, she would have kept lying to you. Is that what you want? A liar?"

"She didn't lie! She never has."

"And yet she kept things from you. I could tell you things. Everything you want to know."

The shadows shifted slightly. Tucker knew _exactly_ where it was. He could simply flick his wrist to contort the fence…

"Don't think about it, Alchemist." she said. Her eyes caught the light, glinting mischievously. He gulped when they met his. "That's right, I know what you're thinking. You're very predictable, you know. All Alchemists are. Katherine could tell you that."

Sam hesitated to speak. She looked back and forth between him and Danny. They had all thought the woman they were talking to _was_ Katherine. Sam was the first to bring this up.

"You're _not_ Katherine." Danny said, raising a brow.

"There are many possibilities throughout history to give you a clue as to who I am. I go by many names, many identities. At one or two points in time, I _might_ have been named 'Katherine.' But as to who I am now is not why I am here. I know what your enemy wants."

"Katherine?" Sam said, surprised. "You know what Katherine wants?"

"Your enemy."

"Katherine _is_ the enemy."

"How do you know? Have you ever asked her?" the person said. It shifted again. "She fights the same enemies as you do. Reapers. They have been after her for years. After me. They'll be after you soon, too. At that liar's death, the shield that was protecting you vanished."

"She's not a liar." Sam said. Tucker placed a hand on her arm.

"What can we do to stop the Reapers?" he asked. That was his main concern at the moment. He had seen what they could do and he wasn't about to let it happen again. Not if he could stop them.

If Reapers had been involved in Sam's grandmother's past, there was no telling what they would do once they found out she was dead. And if a shield _had_ been protecting Sam this entire time, all of Amity Park was in danger…

Tucker gulped. He had heard of such things done before be he had never met anyone with a protection spell on them. He wondered who would have done something like that for Sam. They must have known she was a descendent of Katherine's.

The person in the shadows began speaking again, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"You can do nothing to stop the Reapers at this point." it said. "_But_, you can delay their plans. They need to release someone of great importance. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Dark One?"

* * *

"The Dark One?" Valerie asked, cocking a brow. "Never heard of him."

"He's the only person who can bring down the one who created this whole mess." said one of the Guys in White, as she had dubbed them. Really, they reminded her of those guys in the Will Smith films, only these guys were dressed in white instead of black. The sheer idiocy of it all. If they were wearing black they wouldn't have to worry about stains and such.

They had planned the meeting for the Saturday after the project with Danny and Sam. (The trio got an A, of course.) She had met up with the Guys in White at the Starbucks again to talk about getting her father his position back. So far it hadn't been going well for her. They said that she still had some work to do for them. It was getting infuriating.

"And who caused it?"

"A woman by the name of Katherine Magnusson. She supposedly died in a fire hundreds of years ago, but she apparently staged her death after killing her companion. He forged her a sword and she ran him through with it."

"And this is important to me _why_?"

"The one who currently has the sword also has something we want. An _ampulla_."

"What's that?"

"It's basically a jar that the Romans used for perfume, ointment, or wine."

"What's in it?"

"Something important. Your job is to get the _ampulla _and the sword. Make sure neither of them breaks. We need them both as wholes."

"That's all I have to do. Get in and get out with that stuff?"

"That is correct."

"Sounds easy enough." she said, sipping the hot coffee from the cup they had bought for her. She had gotten the largest size with extra whipped topping, _just_ to spite them.

"You'll have to go over to the other side, the ectoplasmic world." the second agent said.

She stopped drinking and glared at them.

"You didn't mention that before."

"It was implied."

She sighed. The things she would do to help her father. So long as _he _was happy, _she_ would be happy. They knew that they had her and that she wasn't going to go anywhere anytime fast.

"Fine." she said. "When do you want it done?"

"As soon as you possibly can get it done."

"Perfect."

* * *

"Fuck."

Jazz bit her lip and looked around. She found it odd that no one was home yet. She had joined her parents and Danny to go to the Manson funeral for a while, but she had left when the alcohol was brought out. She never cared for the taste but after the month that she had, it didn't sound half bad. And drinking in the privacy of her own home was better than in a place where she knew someone would try to cop a feel.

She kicked off the high heels she decided to wear earlier, the ones that cut into the back of her heels and rubbed wrong. Looking down, she could see the red stains on the nylons. She hoped the blood would wash out.

She couldn't remember why but she blamed those dreams. She loathed them. No, loathed wasn't a strong enough word for how much she despised them. Neither was hate. There was probably something out there to describe how passionately she wanted them to just die away and disappear forever.

She stripped off the nylons and walked barefoot into the kitchen. She knew where the key to her parents' liquor cabinet was. She had seen them open it numerous times. Neither she nor Danny had any real thoughts of drinking the stuff. They'd have some on holidays, when the rest of their family would drink a bottle or five, but the burning taste wasn't appealing. And the effects even less so.

Still…

She quickly dug out the key from one of the kitchen drawers and slipped it into the lock, where it sat waiting to be twisted. The click was soft but it echoed in Jazz's ears. With a gentle tug, she opened the cabinet and looked inside. She wrinkled her nose, not liking the look of any of the bottles. Most of it was too strong for her liking. She quickly shut it and tossed the key back into the drawer.

As tempting as liquor was, she wouldn't fall so far as to drink it. It lead to bad and rebellious behavior. At least, in her mind it did.

She turned around and decided to discard her funeral attire in her room. She was pleased that her parents were still with the Manson's, Danny was with Sam and Tucker somewhere, and Mr. Masters… hadn't made an appearance all day. She guessed that he was out looking for some property in Amity.

She gathered the shoes and the nylons, wincing at the blood, and started up the stairs when the door opened. Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked in, solemnly. They were just as startled to see her as she was to see them. Sam was the first to speak.

"Ouch." she said, looking at Jazz's heels. "What happened?"

"Evil shoes." Jazz said, holding them up for Sam to see. "Remind me to burn these things when I get the chance."

"Will do."

"I'll be back down in a bit. Danny, make sure they're comfortable."

"Always do." Danny said, mumbling. He seemed slightly dazed.

They waited until she was upstairs before they started to talk. Even then, their voices were hushed and low. She couldn't pick up any discernable words. She guessed that they were talking about something important. Hopefully school.

Jazz padded down the hallway to her room. She wrinkled her nose at the sight. She really needed to clean up a bit. She kicked aside some clothes that she never put in the laundry basket and some books that never made it back to her bookshelf. There were some shoes here and there, along with headbands and ribbons.

She quickly changed out of the dress, depositing it like the rest of the clothes in her room, and she changed into some fresh pajamas. She quickly tied her hair back, twisting her wrist in the way that girls do and smoothing it all back.

She moved to the bathroom to remove her makeup and to clean up the broken blisters. She caught her reflection and twisted her face into a look of disgust. She looked rather horrible. She needed sleep. Very badly.

Her stomach growled.

Sleep could wait. Food was more important. And no doubt the three teens downstairs were just as hungry. She would be left to make something for them. But what could they all eat so that they could enjoy something filling and hearty?

While she contemplated what to eat, she cleaned her face and took care of her ankles. She bandaged her heels for the time being. She figured that she would let them breath tonight while she slept.

She started downstairs, pausing at the top to see if she could pick up on the conversation below before jumping in. It was quiet. Eerily quiet.

Jazz gulped, going to her room to grab her Anti-Creep Stick, and tiptoed down the stairs. She made sure to skip over the one that creaked. She strained her ears to hear _something_.

She picked up some noise from the lab in the basement. She tested her swing and made for the basement door as quietly as she could. The entire time, she listened to the noise below. It wasn't until she reached the door that she realized it was just the three teens talking.

She freely clomped down to talk to them.

"What are you three up to?" she asked.

"Just looking at the portal." Danny said. "Hey, did mom and dad ever finish that project of their's? The one with the vehicle they believe would protect a human from the effects of ectoplasm?"

"Yeah, last week. They had Mr. Master's help. I'm not sure where they hid it. Maybe in one of the large walk-in closets that are down here."

"Uh." Sam said, looking around. "There are walk-in closets down here? _Where_? There's not a lot of room."

"You'd be surprised at what our parents are capable of." Danny said, chuckling. He scanned the walls with his eyes and his fingers. He knew exactly where to look. Both he and Jazz did. Their parents had taught them all the safe, secret spots in case of emergencies.

"Why do you want to know where it's at?" Jazz asked.

"Sam and Tucker were curious and they wanted to see it."

It was a lie. When he lied, she noticed, he spoke with a specific tone of voice. There was also the way his shoulders tensed. Why did he always seem to lie to her? Jazz really wanted to know.

When they were children, they shared all of their secrets. Especially the ones they wanted to keep from their parents. Somehow their mom would always find out, but they were never punished for helping one another out and not tattling. Somehow they went their separate ways.

Like she had been for a while, Jazz let the lie slide past. Danny would tell her everything when it was time. He just needed some more space. But how much longer would he take, she wondered.

Danny found one of the closets, which proved to be the largest and the one containing the latest invention. It was a submarine-esque looking thing. Bulky and taking up most of the space.

"What _is_ that thing?" Tucker said, adjusting his glasses.

"It's the Specter Speeder." Jazz said, surprising herself. "It's supposed to be able to protect humans from the effects of the ghost world or whatever it's called. Mom and dad didn't really seem interested in making it until Mr. Masters showed his face in Amity."

"Do you think he plans on using it to travel into the Ghost Zone?" Sam said, turning to look at her.

"Who knows. I just want him out of this house. He's really creepy. Especially the way he stares at mom."

"You think so too?" Danny said, raising his brows and looking at his sister for the first time since she came downstairs. "I thought it was just me and that you were picking up on how uncomfortable I felt. Huh."

"It's what big sisters are for, I guess." she said, shrugging. "Hey, I was thinking about making something to eat. Any suggestions?"

"Mac and cheese."

"Steaks."

"Whatever you want to make."

The chorus of the three teens made Jazz roll her eyes. She waved at them, then she headed upstairs. Mac and cheese and hot dogs sounded good. It was too cold out to grill them but she supposed that she could boil them and then brown the skins in a pan. That sounded half decent.

Half of an hour later, she had the table set and the food out. The teens joined her. Danny had leant Sam and Tucker some of his clothes so they wouldn't have to wear their funeral attire the rest of their time there.

"I made some tofu dogs for you." Jazz said. "Mom decided to buy some when she figured that you might be hanging out here. They're on the left. Feel free to eat as much as you like."

The three teens plowed through the majority of the food in a matter of minutes. Each of them had a different reason for eating; although Danny and Tucker may have actually been that hungry, Sam was trying to hide her grief behind food. Jazz noticed how Danny didn't let her overeat. She would have laughed if she hadn't been disgusted by Tucker's eating habits.

When the food was completely gone, Danny cleared the table and he, Tucker, and Sam headed up to his bedroom to hang out. At least, that was what Jazz hoped they were doing. They weren't up there long, just long enough for Sam to gather her funeral wear and for them to walk her home.

Jazz hoped that Sam could handle the death of her grandmother properly with the two boys by her side.

* * *

Several hours passed after she returned home with Danny and Tucker. Sam hadn't realized that she still wore Danny's clothes until he was long gone and it was too late to text him at a decent hour. Although it was a Saturday, she figured that he deserved a proper night's sleep for once. They all did.

There were several problems, of course, but most of them they could worry about in the morning. Lancer was still missing. He hadn't been at school the entire week, but upon questioning the main office Sam had learned — forced out of, was probably the proper term for it — from the secretary that his sister was having some troubles with her pregnancy and would like her brother to be by his side.

Then there was Valerie. She seemed fairly jittery as of late. She wondered what was up with their latest addition to their group. She hoped it was nothing serious.

Another on going problem was the threat of Katherine. Sam was beginning to wonder when and if she was ever going to show her face in Amity Park. Not to mention the Reapers who had undoubtedly followed her this entire time.

There was also the person who approached them that afternoon. They had talked for a while with the mysterious figure. The person had explained to them _everything_. The Reapers, they learned, were not only after Katherine because she was a Necromancer but because she knew the location of the _ampulla_ — she had yet to learn what that was but the person told them to just follow their instincts for the time being. They wanted not only the jar but also the sword that Katherine's Alchemist had made for her. Sam wondered just how she could be related to such a horrible woman for the eighth time that night.

And lastly there was the most recent problem. Had her parents not had guests to entertain, they would have thrown a _fit_ when they saw her in Danny's clothes. She would get chewed out tomorrow, she knew but for the night she was safe. She hoped that they would only ground her for a short while…

Sam was jarred out of her thoughts by a knock at her door. There were very few people in the house who would knock. Her parents, albeit seeing Danny and Tucker leave, would barge right in if they suspected something was up.

"Come in." she said.

The door opened and she released the breath she had been holding unconsciously. It was only the maid, Kate.

"Is everything okay, Miss?" Kate asked.

"Fine." Sam said. "Why? Did my parents say something?"

"No. I just thought… Forgive me, it is none of my business, but I did not like to be alone when my father passed away."

Sam blinked. She honestly hadn't known that. Actually, she thought, she really didn't know anything about the maid. She had applied for a job with the family before Sam even knew they were moving to Amity. She was intrigued to learn that little tidbit of information.

"I'm sorry." she found herself saying. "I didn't know."

"It was a long time ago. A _very long_ time ago. Back when I was still very young."

Sam shrugged, unsure of what to say. After a moment she spoke again.

"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." she said.

Kate nodded and walked away, closing the door behind her.

Sam took this time to dig out one of her grandmother's last surviving books, the guidebook. She hadn't had the guts to burn it or three other. They held far too valuable information to just destroy them.

She browsed through the pages, stopping at the family tree. She frowned. Something was off. The pages looked and felt far too new when compared to the rest of the book. Why hadn't she seen it before? Maybe they had to be replaced at some point in order to protect the family line? That was really the only suitable explanation she could think of.

A knock at the door startled her. She hadn't realized that several minutes had passed and the Kate would be back with the water by now. She let the maid know that it was safe to enter, tucking the book under the blankets with her lower half.

Instead of Kate, her father stood there, looking around curiously.

"Hey." he said timidly, as if he was afraid that she would bite his head off or something.

"Hi." she said, still fairly surprised.

"The maid was getting water for you and I decided to bring it back up. I hope that's alright."

"It's fine."

He set the water down on her nightstand next to her and he sat on her bed, right on the corner of the book. He quickly stood back up, a little surprised.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just a school book." she said, nervously.

He pulled back the covers and cocked a brow when he realized she had lied to him. The thing didn't look like a school book, although it probably could have passed as one a _very long_ time ago.

She bit her lip as he picked it up and started flipping through it. A moment passed before he met her eyes.

"Sam," he said as calmly as he possibly could, "what is this?"

* * *

**^_^ I'm a clever little thing, I know. There are a few things that were inspired by a miscellany of things. The funeral, oddly, by **_**W.I.T.C.H.**_** I used to read the books as they came out but I didn't keep up with them.**

**Jazz' blisters? I'm currently sporting a pair from some heels that rubbed wrong. Character shoes are now the bane of my existence.**

**And Jeremy learning about Sam's secret came from a plot twist generator. Seriously. Sometimes good things come up on them.**

**Again, I would like to thank you guys. Really, you are lovely, lovely people and you're encouragement keeps me writing on.**


	19. Identity

**This chapter was very crappily edited. I'm sorry. I tried, I did but I did some last minute tampering to make this chapter even better. Especially the fight scene… It's probably the best fight scene I've written yet. I'm kind of proud of it. Jazz gets in on the action. ;D**

**So, yeah. When I eventually go back over this and do some serious proper editing, this will rock your socks into a box.**

**This is the longest chapter I've written for some time. It surprised me, it really did. There was a few things I wanted to happen that didn't (see bottom of page when you're done reading), but it worked out even better in my opinion.**

***sigh* I think I'm going to sleep now. I had a late night and an early morning.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 19**

**Identity**

"_**If you love someone, you're not supposed to want them to come back. Better a peaceful sleep in the earth than the life of a zombie — not really dead but not really alive, either." Cassandra Clare, **_**Zombies Vs. Unicorns **

She felt like a trapped animal. A deer caught in headlights. A rabbit in a cage. A mouse in a snap trap… And what was worse, she did not know what to do.

Her hands grasped the blankets tightly, knuckles white. Her mouth dried. She tried to remedy it by swallowing some saliva, hoping her body would produce more of it.

This was bad. It was very, very, very, very, _very_ bad.

Sam waited for her father to make the first move.

They stared at one another for several minutes. Neither of them moved. Eventually, her father did.

He sighed and set the book down at the end of her bed.

"Did the Fenton boy put you up to this?" he asked.

Sam shook her head, 'no.'

"His family?"

Again she shook her head, 'no.'

"Your grandmother?"

She shrugged.

"Samantha…"

"I was born like this." she said quietly.

"What?" he said.

"I was born like this. That book, it… it's _special_. Here, look." She picked it up and flipped to a page. She couldn't help but tell him everything. It just came pouring out of her, like he was always supposed to know. Maybe telling her father will release some of the burden she constantly felt? "This explains everything about me. About bubeleh. And this… this is about Tucker, you know the kid with the ridiculous beanie? And this is about Danny. We didn't think any Soothsayers existed until he went into the ghost portal."

"Sam, what…?"

"Just listen okay?" she said, pleading with him to believe her. "There is a whole other world out there that you don't understand. That you aren't supposed to even know about. I can do things. _Freaky_ things, alright? I never really wanted to be like this, but it runs in the family, at least that's what bubeleh said.

"Anyway, these things, allow me to… Here." She flipped back to the section on Necromancers. She pointed at a very specific section illustrating her abilities. "This is what I can do. See?"

She allowed him to read the part she pointed it. She watched as his brows furrowed. Sam knew he thought she was insane.

"Sam." he said. "This… all of this is impossible. You can't seriously —"

"I know it's crazy. Just… just believe me, okay?" she said. Biting her lip, she thought about doing something she had not done since her grandfather passed away all of those years ago.

"Samantha, you just wait here." He stood up and started towards the door. "I'm just going to make a quick phone call —"

"Wait!"

He stopped, frowning at her.

"Let me show you what I can do."

Before he could do anything else, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt for something specific. Having only done it once by mistake, she really had no idea how she did it, but she remembered what she had focused on. A memory, an emotion, a certain scent, something _familiar_. When she opened her eyes, there was her grandfather.

He was dressed in a hospital gown, the one he had died in. His salt and pepper hair was still a ruffled mess, and his gray-blue eyes blinked behind comically large bifocal glasses. He was just as she remembered, only transparent.

"Well?" he asked, looking back and forth between his granddaughter and her father. "Why was I summoned, Samantha? And would you tell your father to stop gaping? It's very rude."

Sam bit her lip, trying to hold back laughter as her father made strangled noises and went back and forth between her and the ghost, pointing. When he dropped to the floor, unconscious, she snorted.

"What a pansy." her grandfather said, kicking the leg of the man on the carpeting. "So, what have you been up to?"

"It's good to see you, too." she said, beaming. "We have a lot to catch up on."

"Yes, yes, we do."

* * *

"Wait, you summoned your dead grandfather?" Danny asked, packing a few water bottles into a duffel bag. They were making plans to go into the Ghost Zone. Part of it was slowly gathering the materials they would need. "Why?"

"I don't really know." Sam said, thumping her head on his kitchen table. "It was a spur of the moment thing. To make him believe me."

"How did he take it?"

"He fainted at first. Then he… he just kind of got silent when I started explaining things to him. About my life. Everything I've done. Why we stayed after school. What we're hoping to do. You know, the important things." For a moment she was quiet. Danny wasn't sure if she was going to continue or if he should steer the conversation in another direction.

Tucker, who was unable to be there, was on speaker phone. He too was silent as he listened to her talk. Danny would have thought they had been disconnected had it not been for his glowing screen counting the seconds to minutes they'd been conversing.

When she spoke up again, he was a little startled.

"He got real silent and didn't say anything. He just stood up and… and he walked away. I'm not really sure what he's thinking. We haven't been in the same room all day. In all honesty, I'm getting kind of worried. My dad never holds anything inside when it's just him and me. He says anything that comes to his mind."

"Maybe he just needs time to process it all." Tucker said, his voice crackling a little from the speaker due to the bad connection caused by the Fenton inventions. "I know my dad did when he learned the truth. Just give him some space. Considering how he is, he'll probably need more time than my dad did."

Sam scoffed by didn't say anything, she just moped with her head in her arms and her eyes watching the bag. She was lost in her own thoughts again. She would be for a while, so Danny decided to change the conversation back to their plans.

"So, we need to think of some other things to pack when we go into the Ghost Zone." he said. "So far we have a first aid kit, water bottles, the thermos, a couple of wrist rays, this… belt… thing…, and paper and pencils to make a map. Anyone think of something else?"

"Should we pack extra clothes?" Tucker said. "We don't know how long it could take."

"Food." Sam said. "Beef jerky for you two idiots, bread, fruits and vegetables, trail mix… Whatever three teens can survive on."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"I'll go shopping tomorrow after school. My parents are heading out of town again. Something about a party invite from some people they knew in Chicago…? I don't know, I wasn't really listening to my mom go on."

"We leave tomorrow night then?" Danny said, putting the last water bottle in.

"Yeah," she said, nodding.

"So, we've got a plan, we got most of our materials, and we have a way in and out of the Ghost Zone." Tucker said. "I think everything's set. See you guys at school tomorrow?"

"See you then." Danny said, watching as 'CALL ENDED' flashed across his phone's screen before it turned dark. He looked up at Sam, pulling the duffel bag up on his shoulder. He knew she wouldn't move but he was still worried about leaving her alone in the kitchen.

"Hey," Jazz said, coming down the stairs, "what are you two up two?"

"Um… Emergency Ghost Attack Kit?"

His sister raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. She looked over at Sam, curious. She finished walking down the stairs and sat across from his friend.

"So, Sam, any boys at school you have a crush on yet?" she asked.

Danny smiled and quickly jogged upstairs. He would rather not hear that conversation. It was not meant for his ears. Curious as he was, he knew better than to eavesdrop.

He tucked the bag away in his closet.

He was grateful to his room back again and that Vlad Masters was gone. He didn't care where the man lived so long as it wasn't in his house. He had purged the room, exorcism courtesy of Sam. It hadn't been a full-blown exorcism like the ones he saw in movies, but one his friend had created just for him. He was grateful that no holy water was involved; he really didn't want to see how he would react to that.

Danny ducked into the bathroom, catching his reflection in the mirror. He tilted his head to different angles. He almost didn't recognize his face. He had gotten some decent sleep for once, so the bags were gone but the way his cheekbones were… they were sharper. He wondered if that was from all the training, his new-found powers, or because of puberty. He really didn't question it. He liked it.

A crash and a scream from downstairs jolted his attention.

He dashed out of the bathroom and peeked over the ledge. Sam and Jazz we gaping at the figure in the living room.

He recognized it immediately as the person who had approached them at the funeral. The figure looked around, spying the girls and then him. If it was here, there was meant trouble.

"Where's the other?" the person asked. "Your friend, the Alchemist."

"At home." Danny said, clenching his jaw.

"What's going on?" Jazz said, looking around.

"Call up your friend." the person said. It wavered before appearing behind Jazz, holding a knife to her throat. "She comes with. You have half an hour."

"That's not enough time —" Sam started.

"Go get the food and anything else you'll need." Danny said. "I'll call Tuck and tell him what's up."

She nodded, dashing off, grabbing her bag. He was glad that she was the fastest runner of the three of them. It would nearly take her the half hour to get everything they needed.

When Sam was gone, he marched back up the stairs and got the duffel bag he had hidden not too long ago. He would have to factor in Jazz and the person. He quickly texted his thought to Sam. He didn't wait for a response. Instead he called Tucker.

"Hey, what's up?" he friend asked on the other end.

"Today." he said as he packed some clothes for himself and, while he thought about it, Jazz too.

"What?"

"We're doing it today."

"When you get here, you'll understand. Just bring everything you're supposed and we'll be set. Got it? Be here in less than a half hour."

"Yeah… See you soon?"

"Yeah, bye."

He hit 'END' and checked everything. That should be good enough. With three bags on his arms, he headed back down.

He returned to see a panicked Jazz and the person acting suspiciously calm.

"It's a pity." the person said.

"What is?" he asked, gathering more water bottles. The bag was increasing in weight dramatically. Water bottles weighed a lot more than he anticipated. He was glad of the strength training Lancer put them through more than ever.

"You haven't realized your full potential. Or your sister. There is such greatness that lies within her. All of that energy… untapped for so long. And it's coming out at inconvenient times. Isn't that right, my dear?"

Jazz didn't do anything, she just stared at Danny with wide eyes. Very confused as to what was going on. He didn't offer any knowledge or comfort through his eyes. He didn't want the person holding his sister prisoner to know of any of his weaknesses.

"Jazz is just a human." he said.

"Is she? Hmm… Let's have you continue thinking this way. Should anything happen to her, well, we shall just say it wasn't my fault."

"You should just leave her out of this. She has _nothing _to do with any of this mess that Katherine created."

"Katherine?" Jazz said. "The one in the message?"

"Jazz, stay out of this."

"Oh, look at that." the person said, chuckling. "Your little brother seems to want to protect you. He's failing quite miserably, I must say. I could easily slit your throat."

Jazz gasped as the cold metal licked her skin. Her eyes wide and terrified. She pleased with Danny to do something.

"Let her go." he said, trying to remain calm. He could feel the surge of power trying to surface. "You don't need to use her to sway us into doing anything."

He sensed that the person smirked at him, but it held fast to Jazz and the knife. He moved around as calmly as he gathered everything else he and the others would need. His stoicism, he hoped, was off-putting.

Tucker arrived not long after, out of breath. On his back, he toted a faded, blue canvas backpack. It was one he had gotten at the Army Surplus store years ago and he hadn't used outside of family vacations.

The dark-skinned youth fell face first into the carpet. He took several moments to just breathe.

"What did I miss?" he said, looking towards the kitchen. When he saw the situation, he bolted upwards and took several steps back. "What…? How…? When…? _Seriously_?"

"Sam's getting the food and her things." Danny said. "She should be here in the next ten minutes."

"Man, this is what happens when I have family visiting. I miss out on all the interesting stuff." He smiled at Jazz. "Hey, Jazz. How's it going?"

"How does it _look_ like it's going?" she said, snapping at him. He winced. "This guy barges in, hold a knife to my neck, and talks about some crazy things. Anyone mind filling me in?"

"Later." the person holding her captive said, tightening his grip. "There will be plenty of time for explaining the intricacies of this whole thing later. Right now we are being timed. An emissary for the Reapers is already in the Ghost Zone."

"How do you know that?" Danny said, cocking a brow. This was the first time he was ever hearing of an emissary. Did they recruit an innocent? He didn't doubt it. But who?

"Your friend can't take much longer. Time is almost up." The was a bit of laughter in the person's voice. "Of course, time is a funny thing. If you know the right person, you can defy it completely."

"Defy time?" Tucker said, snorting. "Sounds like something from _Doctor Who_."

"Close, but… technically not correct. I'm sure, however, he would appreciate the sentiment of being compared to a popular television icon. I'm quite sure he would find some way to get one of those little tools, too."

"So, who is this person we're going to get this sword and ampfura from."

"_Ampulla_." the person said, sounding annoyed. "And his name is Clockwork. He is the master of all there was, all there is, and all there ever will be. He understands time better than anyone. He has been protecting the items for a long while now, though it may actually be a very short time and usually when one version of the item leaves, another comes it."

"Uh… what?"

"Time is very confusing. It is not linear. It is… clumped and branches off in different directions. But it never ends. Kind of like the Celtic trees. Ah, look, your friend is here."

Danny turned to see Sam jog into his house. She looked a bit winded and flushed, but she was otherwise fine. She walked as calmly and quickly as she could to the kitchen table, setting the bags of food down. He noticed that her limbs trembled, either from the stress of the whole situation or from the exertion of gathering what was needed. She was strong, he knew, but even a Necromancer's strength was limited. And with everything that had been going on, he had no doubt that she was feeling it.

"Now that we're all here, are we ready to go?" the person said, turning to look at him. "Your parents completed the invention, correct? It should be able to hold all of us, including this… mess of items you think you'll need."

"We weren't sure how long we'd be gone." Danny said.

"Hmm. Well, we could be wandering for some time. The only way to find Clockwork's tower is to not look for it. It will come to you precisely when it means to and no moment more or less. Yes, time is a tricky thing. It is perhaps best that you bring all of this along. Cannibalism is not a fun thing to resort to. Now, shall we?"

The person nodded for Danny to lead the way. He gathered his and Jazz's things, along with the heaviest bag of groceries. No need for Sam to spill everything. He noted that Tucker took the other.

He lead the way downstairs and to the Specter Speeder. He really didn't have time to appreciate his parents' handiwork, because it really was a marvel. He set the groceries down in the rear, seeing as how nothing had to be refrigerated he didn't worry about anything spoiling.

Tucker set the other bag near the one Danny had been holding, also depositing his personal things on the opposite side. The other two teens followed in suit.

"Hey, Danny?" Sam said.

"Hm…?" he responded.

"Do your parents always leave the portal open?"

He turned and looked at the swirling green mass. He could have sworn it was closed after his parents left that morning. But maybe he had misheard them they say something…? No, he was pretty sure he came downstairs after they left and the portal had been closed. He could be mistaken, though.

"No." he said. "It's normally closed when they're away. They might have just forgotten to close it today is all."

No need to worry them, after all.

"Who's driving?" Tucker said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Danny knew he couldn't wait for driver's ed. next year, neither could he for that matter, but neither of them had any experience in operating any sort of vehicles.

The turned and looked at Sam, who sighed and took the seat in front of the steering wheel. She strapped herself in and started the engine. She had quite a bit experience from… _borrowing_ vehicles from people when she lived in the city. She returned them, of course, with as minimal damage as she could manage.

The only other person they knew who could drive was Jazz, who wasn't exactly in a position to be handling the task at the moment. They didn't know if the other person in their group could do it either.

"Oh, before I forget." Danny said, digging around in his bag. He had nearly forgotten an interesting invention of his mother's. "These will help filter out ghost sound and whatnot. I packed enough for everyone."

He distributed them to his companions, although the mysterious stranger they were with turned them down. He shrugged and put the last pair in his bag.

"You're either going to want to sit down or brace yourselves." Sam said. "I haven't driven anything in a while, so this is going to be clunky."

Danny, at first, thought she was kidding but when he was nearly tossed heels over head, he willingly took her advice and braced himself against the wall. He noted that the stranger was have the same dilemma. He felt a little smug at that knowledge.

Sam, once off the ground, easily maneuvering them into the portal and coming out on the other end into a world none of them had ever seen.

The Ghost Zone was an eerily green place, perhaps made of ectoplasm. In the distance, floating islands of sorts could be seen, as well as scattered doors. Danny found himself wondering what was contained on the landmasses and behind the entrances.

"Start mapping." Sam said to Tucker. His artistic ability wasn't the greatest but he was better at estimating distance than Danny was.

Danny handed his friend the paper and the writing utensils he had gathered a little over an hour before.

"Mapping?" the person said, looking at the three friends. It still held tight to Jazz, knife ever presently near his sister's throat.

"We're going to map the Ghost Zone out." Danny said. "In case we ever come back. Figured it was the smart thing to do. In case we get lost. We'll have some way of recognizing where we are."

"That is what maps are for."

He frowned. This person was just trying to antagonize him. He brushed off the words and went back to watching where they were going.

"This _ampulla_," Sam said, "is it originally from our world?"

"Yes." the person said.

"Great."

Danny watched as she scanned the dashboard and slammed a button with one of her hands. A circular map popped in front of her. It reminded him of one of those old fashioned sonar maps.

"Real world item detected." the Speeder said. "Heading in direction to real world item."

The engines roared to life and he barely had any time to hold onto something before the vehicle launched itself forward. He was knocked backwards into the wall, heels over head. He landed in the pile of their backpacks.

"Sorry." Sam said to him. "I didn't think it would do that. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." he said as he righted himself. "As soon as the world stops spinning."

He sat there breathing for a moment. He closed his eyes and realized what a terrible idea that was. Opening them, he felt his world slowly balance out.

When he figured it was safe to start moving again, he stood up and looked over at Jazz and their unwanted guest. His sister had managed to get away and was now kneeling over by Tucker and Sam. She, thankfully, didn't appear to be hurt.

"You know, I'm not able to map things out at the speed we're going." Tucker said, pouting.

"I haven't figured out how to slow this thing down." Sam said. She was scanning the dashboard for any buttons.

"Sam, look out!"

"Huh?"

They all turned their attention to the landmass ahead of them. The Specter Speeder shot straight into the building on the island before any of them could scream. Instead of crashing, they floated right through the wall.

"That's so weird." Jazz said. The others agreed.

"If you are quite done being tourists." the person said from behind them. Danny had almost forgotten that it was there. "It would be best if we left before anyone realized that we are here."

"A little too late for that."

The looked to see a knight on a horse ready to charge at them.

"Um… back up?" Sam said, looking at Danny.

"Back up." he said, agreeing.

She did just that, heading off in a different direction and hoping for the best. The knight did not like this very much and chased after them.

"Can you drive any faster?" he said.

In answer to his question, she revved the engine and they shot forward, weaving in and out of islands, clumps of terra, and doors. It was almost as if the Ghost Zone was purposefully trying to slow them down.

"Stop trying to run away." their unwelcome guest said with a hiss. "The only way to get rid of him is to actually fight him. I thought you were trained to protect yourselves."

"Danny," Jazz said, "what's going on?"

"Not now, Jazz." he said. "Tucker, you take the wheel. Sam, you come with me. And _you_," he turned to the person, "better stay out of this."

He handed Sam a wrist ray, possibly her favorite of his parents' inventions, and picked up the thermos.

"Use this only if you need to." he said. He closed his eyes and willed himself to change, feeling the surge. He looked around, making sure everyone was in place — albeit a very confused Jazz, everyone was.

"Let's blow this sucker away." Sam said, hitting the hatch release button. She caught his stare and shrugged. "I figured we could use a witty start to a battle."

"Just cover me." he said, stepping partially out of the door.

He aimed his fist in the direction of the pursuing ghost, and fired a shot of energy. The knight easily maneuvered around the attack. Danny shot several more, all with the same result. Frowning, he decided to change his tactics.

"Hold onto me." he told Sam. She blinked at him. "I'm going to need someone to stabilize me and act as a lifeline."

She looked up and down his body before deciding to wrap her arms around his waist. If it had been any other time, he would have enjoyed the sensation of the embrace but now was not the time for such things.

He stepped further out of the hatch. Sam gripped him tighter as he did, ensuring him she wasn't going to let go easily. Now with a better view of the knight, he aimed more precisely, guessing where their pursuer was going to move. The shots would have landed had they not been blocked by a rather fierce looking sword.

He shifted slightly, shooting off several blasts of energy in various directions. Two landed hits, one on the knight's shoulder and the other on the horse's eye.

The dead animal let out a shriek of pain, nearly knocking its rider off as it bucked. The ghost was able to call it down and give chase once more.

The ghost shot his own attack at the Speeder. It jolted the group cursed as he almost lost his footing. He was grateful for Sam standing behind him. He warmth a sense of comfort and loyalty.

"I'm going out." he said to her over his shoulder. She gave him a confused look. "I'm going to try and distract him. I need you to cover me before you guys take off."

"Oh, now you're ready to fight." the stranger said. It stepped towards the entrance, removing the cloak.

They openly gaped at the woman beneath. It was the Manson's maid, Kate.

She no longer donned the uniform she had been assigned. Instead, she wore clingy clothes that showed more than he wanted to see. Strapped to her waist was a belt strung with many swords. He wondered how she was able to hide all that bulk under the cloak. The only explanation he could come up with on short notice was magic.

"If we're going to fight," she said, "it would be best to move now."She waited for Danny to relieve himself of his shocked state, though she did not appear happy to wait on him. He didn't question how she would be participating in the fight, he only hoped that she would help him make sure the others could get away.

He shot out of the Speeder, Kate trailing after him. The knight ghost seemed startled by this for a moment but he quickly straightened himself out.

The ghost charged forwards, wielding his sword. Neither side wavered until the moment before impact.

Danny moved out of the way, as did Kate. The knight kept going. He went directly for the Specter Speeder.

The teen cried out in surprise. He watched as the sword was swung downwards to Sam, who had positioned herself at the ready to cover them in case the worst should happen.

Before Danny could blink, Sam managed to blast the ghost in the face with the wrist ray. He was glad she had gotten a lot of practice with it and that she had good aim.

He watched as the ghost tumbled downwards, the horse whinnying.

"Well, that was no fun." Kate said, pouting.

Danny looked at her. She was floating, like a ghost would, but when he focused on her glow, he knew she wasn't a ghost. She was something else entirely. He couldn't quite pinpoint what. It seemed like she was hiding her glow.

Was that even possible?

The knight charged back up at them, taking a swipe at Danny. He quickly turned his midsection intangible, never more thankful for the power than that moment.

He struck back with a punch and a kick of his own. The hits landed, however they proved to be ineffective.

"How do we beat him?" Danny asked Kate.

"He is a knight. He is chivalrous." she said. "Do something that irks him."

He cocked a brow. He had _no_ idea how to tick this ghost off. How would go about angering a ghost who once was a knight?

He tried to swipe the sword away but to no avail.

When she finally had enough of that, Kate stepped in. One of her many swords met with the knights, the sound of the blades meeting rang through his core.

"I shall not fight a woman." the ghost said, dismounting his horse.

"That's your mistake then." Kate said, smirking.

She swung at him again. He blocked her attack.

"Back down." he said to her.

"Never."

Danny watched for several moments, the woman driving him back and the ghost defending himself against every blow.

He noted the cloak the ghost wore. It was made of a flaming ectoplasm-like material, but he knew it was solid enough for him to grasp easily.

He snuck around the back of the knight, crouched and waiting to pounce. When the moment was right, he sprung forward and grasped the end of the cloak. He swung himself over the ghost's head and at an angle, so as to miss the sharp blade.

The knight waved wildly and stumbled backwards. He bumped into his horse and lost his grip on the sword.

"Danny!"

He turned towards Sam's voice. Tucker was driving towards them. Jazz was wielding a bazooka type weapon he had thought to stash inside the night before and Sam had the spare thermos at the ready.

They charged forwards, Jazz aiming wildly and shrieking like a madwoman. She landed several miraculous hits.

The next second, Sam activated the thermos. The knight was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Great teamwork." Tucker said, giving him the thumbs up.

"Danny makes the perfect distraction." Jazz said. "He always has."

"Thanks." Danny said flatly. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"We're here." Kate said, nodding in one direction.

He turned and looked.

Their destination definitely had the feel as if it defied all time and yet flowed perfectly in with it. It was a tall tower with gears galore, ticking softly and turning with each tock.

"Welcome to Clockwork's headquarters." she said, floating over to the island. She landed without any trouble. "We had best get inside."

Danny followed her, landing on the edge and transforming back. He gave an involuntary shudder. He never really liked reverting to his human form after a fight.

Next to him, the Specter Speeder settled quietly. The engines died down and the others stepped out. They looked around, just as amazed as he was.

"Weird." Jazz said. "Humans can step on ghost territory."

"If that's what you think." Kate said. "Come along. We have items to retrieve."

She lead the way inside, passing straight through the door, like a ghost would in their world. Warily, Sam tried it and managed the same thing. Tucker and Jazz followed her, marveling at the sensation.

Danny trailed after them. He phased through just as easily. He never paid much attention to how it felt after the first time. It was definitely weird.

The others stood waiting around, peeking behind something every now and again. Kate was the most ardent in the search. In fact, with every passing moment, she seemed more angered.

"Where is it?" she said, hissing the chant. "_Where _is it? Where _is_ it? Where is _it_? _Where is it_!"

"There is no need to be so loud." a voice said, emerging from the shadows. "The sword is right over on the wall."

Kate noticed it, and easily got it down, crooning at the blade.

Out of the shadows, where the voice had come from, was a young-looking ghost. And then the ghost shifted. It was like watching a human grow old right in front of his very eyes. For a moment, the ghost's aging stopped at a healthy looking man before shrinking into a wrinkled elderly man, where he again paused. The shifting looped back into the youthful appearance.

"Hello." the ghost said, lisping as a child. It was odd hearing the voice change as the ghost aged. "I am Clockwork, as you may have already guess. Welcome to my domain. I have been waiting for you, Daniel, Tucker, Samantha, Jasmine. You and your… _companion_."

"How do you know…?" Tucker started to say but never finished. His attention turned to one of the many round, television-like screens hanging from the ceiling.

"I know exactly who all of you are, who you will be, who you could be, and who you will never be." he said, floating close to them. "I have seen it all. There is nothing that ever surprises me."

"Where's the _ampulla_?" Kate said, sheathing the sword along with the others she wore.

"Patience. No one ever gets far without it. Especially in these types of situations."

Her nostrils flared violently and her face grew a brilliant red.

"We had a deal." she said, her voice changing. It grew deeper and heavily accented. "You said that you would hold them for me and when I came back —"

"I simply said I would hold them for you. You are not meant to receive the _ampulla_ at this point in time. In another timeline, yes, you get it. But here and now? No."

"Then tell me whose grubby paws I will have to pry it out of when they are dead."

"You will see in time, my dear."

"Tell me, Clockwork! As I stand here, with my blade, _tell me who _I _will have to kill_!"

"Calm yourself, Katherine Magnusson!" Clockwork said. "Now is not the time for this! Save your anger for later."

* * *

**So, who saw that coming?**

**Pheek did! And I think someone else did, too. I can't remember anymore. I'm sorry. *headdesk* **

**Also, I wanted to address something that Pheek pointed out (by the way, I'm sorry if I sounded mean in my original response to you, that was never my intention). There is much confusion as to Sam's parents' names. In every episode they have been credited in, they have been called Jeremy and Pam. I checked and double checked this. Triple, even. I always make sure I do pretty thorough research and investigation.**

**Okay, now for the things that were changed from my original notes.**

**First off Skulker was supposed to be involved in the fight, not the Fright Knight. I think I changed it because of something in the future I wanted to write.**

**Secondly, the fight was supposed to end with everyone crashing into Clockwork's tower. That was supposed to lead to a few other things.**

**Thirdly, the conversation between all of them in the tower was supposed to go differently. I don't remember how I originally wanted it, but there is a rough draft floating around my black hole of a bedroom.**

**Katherine is an interesting character. She surprised me with her quick temper but not fighting skills. The number of weapons she carries… hee hee. Let's just say she and Clockwork are friends. In the nicest terms. More about that revealed in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, yeah my summer's going great. Still chatting with my cabin mates and friends from NaNoWriMo. By the way, guys, July's camp is coming up! Anyone interested, just signup at the main site. Just find the Danny Phantom topic in the FanFiction section. I'm checking everyday now. I'll let you know how to get in contact with the rest of us, and there are many of us. We welcome everyone. Even if you generally don't write for the Phandom, we'll let you in. :)**

**Yeah. Can't wait for next week for you guys. You're going to love it.**


	20. Phial

**My shortest chapter since chapter 6. :D Fairly proud that this is following my longest chapter.**

**So, not a whole lot goes on in this chapter. It's Valerie centric and we learn what she does. Yay! This chapter takes place the morning of last chapter's events. In the long run, this chapter should have come first BUT, I felt it far more necessary to post it after.**

**And thank goodness that I edited this. I forgot something until I started typing up these little notes. It would have caused a major plot hole on my part to not have Val realize something.**

**I forgot to say this last chapter: AJ, at this point in time, in _DNC_, no there will not be any serious DxS in here. In the next two fic that wrap up this trilogy, I don't doubt there will be some. I am not one to write about two characters really being in a relationship, I like writing about the journey to it.**

**Anyway, enjoy~!**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 20**

**Phial**

"_**In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice. We're each of us our own chiaroscuro, our own bit of illusion fighting to emerge into something solid, something real. We've got to forgive ourselves that. I must remember to forgive myself. Because there is a lot of grey to work with. No one can live in the light all the time." Libba Bray**_

She felt like vomiting, and she had a good reason.

Valerie had to somehow sneak into Fenton Works, go down to the lab, slip through the portal, and get into the ghost world to find the sword of Katherine Magnusson and the _ampulla_.

"It's like I'm a character in a book or a movie." she said. "Or a fanfic."

She kicked off her covers and listened for her father. He must have still been asleep. The hours he worked were long, hard, and made his sleep schedule completely wonky in her opinion.

She padded out of her room as quietly as she could, wincing when she felt her muscles really move for the first time that morning. It would be best to stretch them before she did anything else.

When she was limber enough, she ate a quick breakfast and dressed. Normally, the only time she would wear pants was at night during the winter and when she attended lessons at the local dojo. That day she deemed it viable.

With her backpack in hand, loaded to the brim with weapons given to her, she opened the door. On the ground, balancing on the edge of the welcome mat, was a box.

Cocking a brow, she picked up the note taped to it. She blinked at the words scrawled across the paper.

"_Some last minute equipment. Please use it with care, it's one of a kind. It should protect you from the effects of the Ghost Zone. Good luck!_"

Looking down at the box, she decided it was safe. Those freaky government people probably hadn't had it ready for her last night when they loaded her up with guns.

She picked up the box and brought it inside, setting it down on the kitchen table with her backpack. Grabbing a pair of meat shears, she cut the tape that was holding the top together.

Inside, there was one thing. It was a flat board with jets at what she supposed was the back. It looked like something from the future. She rand her fingers over it, wondering what it was capable of.

Valerie yelped when it started in her hands. She dropped it. It floated a few inches off the ground — which, she had to admit, was pretty cool.

She walked around it, trying to figure out if it was safe or not. It was she decided.

"I wonder what would happen if…" she said, stepping onto it.

At first the object dipped, brushing the tile flooring before it raised itself back up. It was just like a skateboard… that could float. It clicked and vibrated beneath her feet.

She was worried that she might have activated a bomb for a moment. It wasn't until a red blob of fabric slipped out from underneath did she realize that the device was probably just opening a door.

She stepped off and picked up the fabric. It was shiny and stretchy. And it was a jumpsuit, not just a pile of cloth like she thought. It reminded her of Danny's parents and their wacky attire.

"Weird." she said, slipping the jumpsuit into her backpack. Looking at the board, she wondered if it could somehow shrink to fit in there with the rest of it.

Before her very eyes, the board folded in on itself and transformed itself into a watch. She picked it up and attached it to her wrist. It looked fairly stylish.

If her father ever saw her with it, she decided to say it was one of the Fentons' inventions that they were testing out. She only hoped that he would buy it when she used it.

Grabbing the box and stuffing the note in her pocket, she gathered up her backpack again and set out. She disposed of the box down the recycling shoot and left her building.

She stopped at the Starbucks, feeling in the mood for some coffee and proud that she had saved quite a bit. She wasn't in a particular rush that morning. She had to ditch school in order to go through with her plan.

She felt giddy at the thought of missing school for a day. She could feign not feeling well and, as everyone knew her father worked late, the necessary call to the main office was not really needed for her case.

Smiling, she ordered the largest cup she could get of her favorite drink. She drank it happily as she walked in the direction of Fenton Works. She polished off the beverage on her walk, disposing of it in someone's trashcan as she passed.

She reached her destination within a matter in twenty or so minutes. Gnawing her lip, she realized that she should have thought of a way to get in beforehand.

"Maybe I can get in through the backdoor." she said, recalling in her previous visit how she had seen a door that lead out to a patchy green lawn.

Valerie easily found the alley way behind the building. It was really quite fortunate that the Fentons lived on a corner. It meant she wouldn't have to hunt for the house.

She noted the state of the fence surrounding the yard. While the side facing the street was relatively nice, the side facing the alleyway was in need of repairs. She was grateful for that.

She slipped through a part that particularly need to be fixed and she sidled along to the door. She pressed her ear against the wood and listened. There was people talking within. She swore she heard two voices say their adieus. A few minutes later, the front door closed again and a vehicle engine revved.

Valerie grinned and she tried the doorknob. What luck! It was unlocked.

Carefully, she slid inside. She found herself in a small room with the washer and dryer, along with multiple cleaning supplies… most of which look like they had been altered in some way by Mr. and Mrs. Fenton.

She strained her ears for any sound and she closed the door, which thankfully did not creak like she expected it to. It was only when she was positively sure that no one was home that she started to breathe normally.

She tiptoed through the kitchen and looked around as she opened the lab door. Didn't the Fentons ever lock _any_ of their doors? A burglar could break in, take something, and they would never be any the wiser.

She carefully made her way down, using her cell phone's flashlight app. to light her way. It was a good thing she did. Several inventions laid haphazardly on the ground, waiting to be tripped over.

She found the Fenton Ghost Portal without any mishaps, though finding the open button was one within itself. Were all of those switches really necessary? She was surprised to find that the one she was looking for was right in front of her the entire time. She felt like kicking herself for not noticing sooner.

Valerie pushed the button and watched as the door slid open, revealing a swirling mass of green goop. She couldn't help but wonder what was beyond it. She trailed a finger in the stuff, scowling when she brought it back with some of the gunk on it.

She wiped her finger off on her pants.

"It's now or never." she said, taking the jumpsuit out. She slipped it on over her clothes and zipped it up. Even with the hood on, she felt comfortable. Maybe those government guys weren't half bad.

She looked over the watch and pressed several buttons, hoping for a positive response. The correct one must have been pushed because the watch started to unfold and form the board.

She smirked and stepped on it.

"It can't be too hard." she said. "Just step back and…"

She pressed her foot down and the jets at the back started up, propelling her forward. She yelped as she headed towards the wall. She tipped backwards and fell back, landing on her rear.

"That was stupid." she said, rubbing the sore muscle.

She looked at the board. It had stopped right before it could crash. It had sensed that its rider had fallen and swooped back to her.

"Just as loyal as a dog. Well, are you ready to go? …Why am I talking to an inanimate object?"

She got back on and swiveled around to face the portal. Taking a breath, she stepped back and down, starting the jets.

She shot through the portal, coming out on the other end completely unharmed.

"Now, to find that stuff…"

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

After several hours of searching, and still unsure of what she was supposed to be looking for, Valerie decided that it would be best to stop and ask for directions. The thing was, finding someone to ask.

The ghost world was eerily empty of anyone. She wondered if it was usual for the time of day or if something was going on.

She stopped at one of the floating islands and looked around. There was no one in sight. Smiling, she ventured further, picking the board up as she walked.

The island as a lonely looking place with a single tower and gears. She swore that she could hear a soft ticking along with the soft steps of her feet.

"Hello?" she said, hoping someone would hear her. "Anyone… home?"

The door to the tower creaked open, startling her. A soft, blue glow beckoned her to enter. She took tentative steps towards it.

"It's perfectly safe to enter." a voice from inside said. "No one with ill intent may come inside without my permission, and you, my dear, are hardly one to harm me."

She peeked inside and saw the freakiest ghost she had ever seen. It — _he_, she supposed — shifted from one age to another at a ridiculous rate. It was nauseating to watch him.

"Hello, Miss Valerie Gray." the ghost said. "My name is Clockwork. I believe you are here for something."

"Yes, but how did you —" she said, being cut off by him.

"— know? I am the ghost of time. I know all that there was, all that there is, all that there will be, and that may never come in your lifetime."

"So, your basically like a Time Lord. Like from that British show."

He chuckled.

"I am much more powerful and much more real, though that doesn't mean he does not exist in a few timelines."

She gaped at him. That was all she could do. Was he _serious_? He had to be joking… right? TV show characters didn't exist outside of the TV. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't! Or… or was it? Strange things had been happening in Amity Park, after all.

"Right." she said. "I need the _ampulla_ or else my dad can't get his job back."

"Ah, you're from that time stream." he said, floating to another room. The door in front of him unlocked itself and opened. Maybe he was that powerful.

She followed after him, watching as he perused through the many items on the shelves. The room seemed to bend all logic. She couldn't see the far wall and she sincerely doubted there was one.

He muttered as he looked, pausing and telling her what something was from or when it would be picked up. He stopped before an object that reminded her of the thermos that Danny, Tucker, and Sam carried around with them. It was one of the Fentons' inventions, if she remembered correctly. It sucked ghosts in or something.

"No, we don't need that." he said. "Hmm… I'm trying to remember. Is this one from a different timeline or from your future. No, another timeline. I'm quite sure. You don't need to worry about it right now.

"Ah, here we go."

Clockwork plucked a small phial off one of the shelves. He held it up for her to see. It had a bulbous bottom and a skinny spout. An eye, along with a few other symbols, was carved into it. The thing could fit in her hand easily.

"That's the _ampulla_?" she said, cocking a brow.

"You were expecting something larger?" he said.

"Well, yeah."

"Trust me, this is the one you need. Now, you had best be off, I'm expecting other guests soon, go out this window, there you go."

She was surprised by the window, allowing him to gently guide her through it. She tried to remember it being there beforehand but she couldn't. He closed the curtains for that window behind him.

Being quick on her feet, she mounted her board and swung around the building to a window that would allow her to see inside. She gaped at the familiar figures below.

_What were they doing here?_

Deciding that it was best to leave before she was noticed, she started back in the direction she swore lead to the Fentons' portal. She landed just outside of the swirling ectoplasm and realized something.

She forgot the sword.

* * *

**Originally, I was going to have Val spy on Clockwork to see what was going on. I figured against it. It works, either way.**

**So, guys, no one new has signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo. Do you guys not want a chance to chat with several writers from the Phandom? I think you'd recognize many of them immediately. Really, guys, the offer is still up. Everyone is welcome. All you do is sign up for NaNoWriMo, leave a message at the DP Circle thread, and then sign in at the Camp site (heh). It's simple, if I can do it, so can you! Join us! We offer, double chocolate chip muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, s'mores, and other delicious foods. I know you're tempted.**

**If you're too shy, just message me and I'll help you get all hooked up. If you're curious, just let me know. I'll let you know who's in our group and if you want to, feel free.**

**This entire thing costs no money! Only valuable time. That could be used to make money. XD**

**Now that I'm done with that… check out the poll on my profile. I want to know something and I want to see how many people would be interested. I'll still write it, I just want to get a good idea of something.**

**So… have a great day, join me and several others for Camp, and have a muffin. I baked 'em fresh this morning!**


	21. Imprecation

**What's this? Another short chapter? Yes, that is correct. A short chapter. Again. Why? We're VERY close to the end. There won't be much left for me to do with **_**DNC**_** except work on the one-shot collection thingy a little bit and organize the sequel… which I won't start working on until November.**

**Ugh, I'm tired. And I've had normal sleep hours too. Maybe real life is finally catching up to me.**

**Anyway, this chapter is hard to describe in any proper terms. I think all of last chapter and most of this chapter were written in one day for April's Camp NaNoWriMo session. By the way, guys, if you want to join, you still have time~! Seriously, you can get a lot done and the Phandom group I work with is great help and very encouraging.**

**If you need that caffeine boost to get your butt in gear to finish something, sign up for Camp! It's great for that, and we won't let you fail. We actually beat people over the head with boards. **

**It's free, it's all online, and everyone is super helpful. So, why not take a chance and see if you like it? We can always use more people in our cabin.**

…**Okay, done with camp talk. Now, onto the chapter!**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 21**

**Imprecation**

"_**Harry — you're a great wizard, you know."  
"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.  
"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things **__**—**_ friendship and bravery and — oh Harry — be careful!" J.K. Rowling, **Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**

Sam openly gaped at the woman in front of her. She was aware of Danny and Tucker's yelling and Katherine's shouts. It was all too much. She didn't know how to properly react.

Katherine Magnusson had been with them the entire time. She had followed them, fed them food, helped take care of her family, kidnapped and threatened to kill Jazz, and protected them from ghosts.

She stared at the three who were arguing quite loudly.

Jazz stood off to the side, looking back and forth between them — wondering what she should be doing, no doubt. The redhead was completely out of her element here.

"Quiet!"

She winced at the sound of Clockwork's voice. She had nearly forgotten that he was there. He was not happy.

"Now, shall we discuss things properly?" he said, looking back and forth between the woman and the teens. "Good. You three will need the help of Katherine and she will need you. All of your petty disputes can be put off until later."

"But —" Danny started to say.

"_Put off until later._ There are more important things we need to talk about. Katherine, have you found George?"

The woman stiffened.

"He is dead." she said. "But you knew that he would be when you sent me off to find him, didn't you?"

"I did."

She did not appear to be happy.

"Who's George?" Sam said, speaking up for the first time since the revelation.

"None of your concern at the moment." Clockwork said. "Just remember to ask about him in the future. There are many things about yourself, and your family, that you do not know."

"While this is all nice and dandy," Katherine said, "I still want to know about the _ampulla_."

"As I said, it's not here."

"Then where is it?"

"Come and gone."

"Who took it?" Tucker said.

"You will learn their identity soon enough." Clockwork said. "For now, just know that it is in safe hands. The person who took it is only trying to help someone they love very much."

"What are we supposed to do?" Danny said, "Wait around for them to contact us?"

"That is _exactly _what I want you to do."

* * *

Valerie ducked into an old phone booth, that no doubt needed to be cleaned. She quickly punched in the number to her contacts, pleading for someone to pick up. She didn't have long to wait.

"Do you have what we need?" a voice on the other end said.

"I have the _ampulla_." she said, feeling its presence in her pocket. It weighed heavily there.

"What about the sword?"

"I'll explain what happened when I'm given the rendezvous point."

"You don't get the rendezvous point until you have both the _ampulla_ and the sword."

Valerie grit her teeth. What was she supposed to tell them? That she forgot about it? That the ghost distracted her? That the _enemy_ had it?

They would probably tell her to make them give it to her, make them surrender it or something. What else was she supposed to do?

"Look," she said, "the others have the sword. I can't get it without help. I'll need backup if you want me to get it."

There was a long pause on the other end. She thought the line had gone dead when the person answered.

"Alright." they said. "Contact us when you have a time and a date established with them."

The person hung up and the line died. Valerie stood there for several seconds, listening to the dial tone. She hung up the plastic phone and exited the booth.

She would call one of the three tomorrow when she had time to think about what she wanted to say. She decided to make a script with possible questions and answers that she would need. It helped that she knew the people she would be dealing with.

She just hoped they wouldn't recognize her voice.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

When Valerie got home, she dumped her bag by the front door, listening for signs that her father was still home. She sighed in relief when there was nothing.

Thankful, she walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She grabbed the orange juice carton, ready to drink the liquid from the container.

"And where were you all day?"

She yelped and dropped the open carton on the floor. She had been caught.

"Well?" he father said, frowning from his seat at the table.

"Er…" she said. "Hi, daddy."

"Don't 'hi, daddy' me, young lady. Do you know how much trouble you're in?"

"A lot?"

She ducked her head. He rarely got angry with her. Should could count on one hand all of the times and she _still_ would have a few fingers to spare.

"Don't get smart. When the school called this morning asking if you weren't going to be in and I said that you were, but you never showed up… I was worried _sick_, Valerie."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry is not going to cut it. After everything that had happened to you, I thought you knew better. You were doing so good, acting more grownup. I was _proud_ of you. I don't think I was ever more _proud_ of you than I have been in a long time. But then… then you ditch school like a… like a…"

"Like a teenager?" she said, meeting his eyes.

He sighed, looking away.

"You're grounded until further notice, no 'and's, 'if's, 'or's, or 'but's. Got it?" he said. She nodded. "Good. Now, clean up the mess. And… and do your homework. I want to see that it's completed when I get home in the morning."

"Alright, daddy."

She wiped up the mess as quickly as she could, listening to him get ready to leave. He shouted a farewell to her, which she returned, and closed the door behind him. When the door clicked shut, she sighed and leaned on the mop.

"Well," she said, "fuck."

* * *

**XD Great chapter ending, if I do say so myself.**

**Funny thing, in my notes the trio + Katherine were supposed to get the **_**ampulla**_**, while Val was supposed to get the sword. Whoopsie. **

**So, Val's conversation with her dad was one my parents had with my sister a few years ago. True story.**

**Yeah, so join Camp or… I'll send Slender Man after someone. She knows who she is. (BTW, he still has my coffee mug. I'm kind of mad about that.)**


	22. Plans

**So, today's my sister's birthday. She's eighteen. O_O Dear god, where did the time go. **

**I have some great news: I'm on tumblr now! ^_^ I'm known as icyandthefrostbites. I sound like a weird band dedicated to Jack Frost or something… But, yeah, I'm on there now. Come see how weird I am, what obnoxious posts I have, and all sorts of goodies you won't get on Facebook or Twitter. Like, awesome info on some future fics that you won't get anywhere else (my circus thingamagig, anyone?). **

**Follow me! XD**

**Yeah, not much else besides me going camping this weekend. Dear lord, save me from the bugs. I freak out every time…**

**Speaking of camping, really people, you should join us for camp! What's better than hanging out with the Phandom's most awesome peeps! And I'm not talking about myself. It's free, you get to work on your writing, you'll get moral support, and a masked man with a chainsaw running after you. Er… wait. Moral support? Ha! More like people who will beat you over the head with a dictionary if you don't meet your daily goal.**

**But we're nice people. Join us!**

**Also, one more chapter after this~. Wow, I really don't know what I'll do with myself. *coughliarcough* Really, see above. THAT's what I'll be doing, Camp NaNoWriMo. Everything goes back to that…**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 22**

**Plans**

"_**You are obvious, boy. You are difficult to miss. If you came to me in company with a purple lion, a green elephant, and a scarlet unicorn astride which was the King of England in his Royal Robes, I do believe that it is you and you alone that people would stare at, dismissing the others as minor irrelevancies." Neil Gaiman, **_**The Graveyard Book**

Jazz took the steering wheel when they got back to the Specter Speeder. She knew that she could get them back in record time. Her mother had programmed the coordinates in when the vehicle had finished being built.

In one corner, she could sense Katherine with her sword — not that the woman _needed_ another one, she had plenty as it was. There were many questions to ask about her, for example: _How the _hell_ was she alive_?

She shook her head. There would be time for questions and answers later. Right now, she need to focus on getting them home.

Tucker was bandaging Danny's scrapes and bruises badly, according to Sam. The two were bickering, her poor brother slumped against the wall between them. Their voices were hushed, like they usually kept it, and their eyes flicked between her and Katherine every so often.

Shrugging it off, she lazily got them back to the Fenton household. She landed the Speeder smoothly in the basement lab and got out, not wanting to be in the vehicle any longer than necessary.

She left the others downstairs to unload everything. Normally, she would offer to help but her mind was otherwise preoccupied. She was wondering what time it was, how long they had been gone.

Jazz glanced at the microwave clock and gaped at the glowing green numbers — not dissimilar to the hue of the… Ghost Zone and Danny's… powers?

Powers…

_What was going on?_

The world wasn't… _functioning_ properly. It was if something had knocked it off orbit — _off kilter_ — and there was no way to correct it.

She heard the teens and the woman trudge up the stairs. They held all of the answers. They were the ones who could set things right. They were the only ones who could.

"How long have we been gone?" Tucker said when he saw her.

She glanced at the clock again. Such a weird green color…

"Fifteen minutes." she found herself saying.

She blinked. They really hadn't been gone very long. Only fifteen minutes? It felt like several hours.

"Time moves differently with Clockwork." Katherine said. "He openly defies it and makes sure that no one else does. Besides me, of course. But then again, I am supposed to. If I didn't… well, Clockwork would have a few things to say."

"Yeah, like, 'Stay in your own time.'" Sam said, growling slightly.

"Tut tut. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be here."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not time for you to know yet." Katherine said, combing her hair back with her long fingers. "Clockwork will let me know when."

"And who's George?"

"Not yet."

"You know," Jazz said, "you are a rather infuriating woman. I don't see how anything gets done with you around. It's near impossible. It's like… It's like life is a circus and you're trying to take over as owner or something."

Katherine smirked.

"Interesting analogy." she said. "I was in a circus once. I was a magician's assistant. Ended up killing the bastard for… well, a few unpleasant things that you children don't need to know about quite yet."

"We're hardly children." Danny said.

"Adolescents then."

"What is _wrong _with you?"

"Many things, most of which, if properly diagnosed by a professional, would probably have me locked away for a very long time." She turned her back to them rather abruptly. "I had best be going. Many things to do."

She started for the front door, then stopped.

"If you receive a call from the one who got the _ampulla_ before us, do _not_ agree to any of their terms. They are working for an organization that could destroy the world if they got their hands on the sword."

"What's so special about it, anyway?" Sam said, crossing her arms.

"It helped to seal away a very powerful enemy who traveled back in time to kill me. I had him sealed away in that _ampulla_. The only way to get him out is with my sword. If they were to get their hands on it, _Reapers_ would destroy everything and everyone you ever loved. Which is why I warn you, _do_ _not agree to their terms_. It will only lead to devastation."

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Jazz found that she had a hard time concentrating on her schoolwork the next day. Her mind was caught in the events from yesterday. The Ghost Zone. The weirdness of her brother and his friends. Katherine. The Clockwork ghost.

It was all so very confusing and she was receiving no answers from anyone. No matter who she cornered and when, they remained silent or weaseled their way out by getting to class.

At the moment, she was supposed to be contemplating over whether or not Hamlet was a tragic hero or tragic villain. She could care less about him and all of his tragic mess. He was a rather whiney thirty-something year old.

"Any ideas, Jasmine?"

She jumped in her seat as the Shakespeare teacher approached her. He smiled sadly down at her notebook. There was nothing from the day's lesson scrawled down.

"Off day?" he said.

"Yeah." she said. "I've… got a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Just remember to read the first act of _Hamlet_. Friday is Halloween and what better way to kick it off than a play with a ghost in it?"

She smiled. _Hamlet_, a strange little ghost story with a tragic ending.

Flipping through it, she tried to find a character she could relate to. She stopped on the page where Hamlet learned of Ophelia's death. It was a relatively sad scene. The character lost her brother to distance, her father to an accidental murder, and her lover due to rejection. She lost the ones she lived for, stumbled through life, and committed suicide.

The most tragic character in a tragedy, the victim of everyone around her. She saw things, heard things that no one could understand or interpret if they ever tried. She lost herself to the madness of it all.

Madness which she was still trying to make sense of. Ghosts don't exist. People didn't come back from death. Her brother could not transform into a superhero-look-alike. However, it was all possible. Yes, what madness she lived in.

Jazz's thoughts went back to the dreams that haunted her. Over the past several days, she had a reoccurring dream of a man floating in the sky. His hair was made of fire and his eyes burned red. He was frightening, to say the least.

And yet, he was vaguely familiar. It was as if she knew him all her life and she felt an urge to help him, protect him, from the pain of the world.

Then, in her dream, he would notice her and smirk. He would blast a building, the one right beside her — Casper High School.

She would always wake up at that point, finding herself safe in her room with no one around. Every time, she would cry. For the school. For the people inside. For her. For him…

"Why does it have to be so hard?" she said quietly to herself.

"_Hamlet_?" her teacher said. "It's considered Shakespeare's greatest. It is his longest, the one with the most characters, and it has the longest soliloquies of an actor's life. I hardly see the appeal to it myself, but it must be read for people to really understand the playwright."

She nodded, hoping he would go away.

"That's an interesting scene." he said. "Do you relate to Ophelia at all?"

"I'm not really sure." she said. "In some ways, yeah, but…"

"There are only two female roles in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude. Hamlet felt betrayed by both."

The bell rung, signaling the end of class. Their teacher called out final instructions for them. He looked back at Jazz.

"Gertrude was an adulterous tramp and Ophelia did nothing. Betrayal comes in many forms, Miss Fenton." He turned away and gathered his things. She waited for him.

"The play would be a lot better if Hamlet just killed Claudius in the first act." she said. "And a lot shorter."

"Or if there was a sassy, gay best friend."

A smiled perked her lips up. So he knew about those YouTube videos.

"Go on, Ophelia of Amity Park." he said, shooing her along to her next class. "I don't want to hold you back any longer."

She waved goodbye and moved on. There would be time for answers later, now was time for school.

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

The rest of the day sailed by quicker than anyone could anticipate. Jazz drove Danny's friends home, dropping them off at their respective residences. They made plans to rendezvous at the Fentons later that night.

The siblings spent their alone time together in silence, no need to talk about school when they just got out. Save it for dinner.

What was she going to make for dinner…?

Jazz parked the vehicle on the street in front of Fenton Works, grimacing at the bright, neon sign and the precarious… _thing_ perched atop. Her parents _really_ didn't know when to stop.

Danny lead the way inside, dropping his belonging on the floor by the door. She kicked them gently to the side, depositing her own next to them. She wasn't ready for homework yet.

She needed answers.

She knew one place where she could get some right away. She still had that book from Sam's library tucked under her bed.

It didn't take her long to secure the area and dig it out. It looked just as it did the first time she opened it. She took the same safety measures, being even _more_ careful this time.

She spent several hours reading the tome, losing track of time and completely forgetting about dinner.

It wasn't until there was a knock on her door did anything even begin to register. She hid the book away, quickly tucking it under her mattress, and opened the door.

Danny stood there, holding a box of pizza out to her.

"I ordered your favorite." he said. "Mom and dad went out and left us money. We each got out own, so I thought 'why not,' you know?"

"Thanks, Danny." she said, taking the box from him. She ruffled his hair.

"So, what have you been doing all alone up here? Did you decide to lock yourself in solitary confinement finally?"

"No, I was just… reading a few old things. Reminiscing about our childhood."

"You and those old psychology journals." He rolled his eyes. "We'll be downstairs watching a movie and waiting for… the phone call or whatever. Who knows, maybe we'll get a message via carrier pigeon. We think we'll be getting it soon. You're welcome to join us. I mean, you _have_ been dragged into it and all…"

"What movie?" she said.

"Some 1960s movie Sam brought with her. _Carnival of Souls_ or something like that."

"Sounds… interesting?"

"You want to join us? They won't mind."

"So long as you and Sam don't sneak away to make out, I'll join in."

Her brother's face flushed a vibrant red, clearly recalling the one time that she and Tucker walked in on them. Boy, how much teasing went on after that… And the fact that she could _still_ get him with it? Even better.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked about everything that's been going on." he said, waiting for her as she closed her door. "I mean, you are in this thing for life now. And some crazy things _did_ just happen."

She shrugged, forgetting about how she maliciously tried to question them earlier.

"Talking about Ophelia will change a person's mind." she said, ignoring his incredulous look as they walked down the stairs. "I think I'm back to the 'you'll tell me when you're ready' stage."

"The _what _stage?"

She shook her head and sat next to Sam.

"Is that veggie lovers?" she said, pointing to it.

"If you want some, knock yourself out." Sam said. "Those two won't touch it. Well, Danny would if he wasn't afraid of me stabbing him with a pencil or something."

"I am not!" Danny said, sitting on the opposite side. "I… just don't want to risk getting yelled at. Like last time."

Jazz cocked a brow but did not question it. There was a lot of things she didn't _want_ to know about, especially the flirtations between the two.

She looked at Tucker, who smiled slyly.

"Do they do this a lot?" she said quietly to him.

"Every five minutes when someone else isn't talking." he said. "It's kind of funny, for the most part. But it's starting to get annoying."

"Can we start the movie now?" Jazz said loudly, interrupting Sam as she pried Danny's mouth open to forcefully feed him a slice of the veggie covered pizza.

"Right, the movie." Sam said, managing to give Danny the slice and grabbing the remote from the coffee table, despite the fact that it has been buried by the pizza boxes.

The movie was terrible. It relied too much on the "special effects" to create the foreboding and uneasy atmosphere than a good script and good acting. Still, as laughable as it was, it was very likable and made the teens jump a few times.

"Sort of clichéd ending." Sam said, standing up and stretching. "Huh, almost eight thirty. Thought it would be later than that."

"And still nothing from the people who want the sword." Tucker said. "Weird. You'd think by now there would at least be _something_."

He jumped as his phone buzzed and crooned a Katy Perry song. He smiled nervously at them before answering.

"Hello?" he said into the speaker, quickly turning it onto speaker phone. He gently set it down on the coffee table.

"Mister Foley," a deep voice on the other end said, "I presume you are with Mister Fenton and Miss Manson."

"You are correct."

Jazz frowned, scrunching her brow. They didn't know about her. Yet.

"But we also have Jazz." Tucker said.

Sam smacked him on the arm, glaring. She was obviously thinking the same as the aforementioned girl. If they didn't know about her involvement, then they could use her to help them get the _ampulla_. A sneak attack, of sorts.

But of course, Tucker would go and ruin that. As he always did.

"Jazz?" The voice hitched up in pitch, sounding eerily familiar.

"Danny's… cat."

"Right. Cat."

"You called to get the sword, didn't you? You need it to open the _ampulla_."

"I have no want or need for the sword personally but my… _employers_ need it for some reason."

"And who are these 'employers,' exactly?"

"A secret government group but I call the Guys in White."

"I _knew_ secret government groups existed." Sam said quietly under her breath. Danny hushed her.

"So, do you know the exact reason those guys need it or haven't the disclosed that information to you?" Tucker said, leaning forward from his perch on the couch.

"I care little for their intentions." the person on the other end said. "I have my own reasons as to why I want to help them."

"Look," Sam said, "if they've got some dirt on you or whatever, my family can easily bust you out of it — government or not. We have… _connections_."

"Connections to _what_?" Danny said incredulously. "The _mob_?"

Sam shrugged and said:

"We know people."

"If we could continue." Tucker said, gesturing to the phone.

"Right."

"So, how do you want to go about this?"

"We settle things in person." the stranger said.

"Name the place and time."

"Casper High, eight o'clock, Friday evening."

Tucker looked at Sam and Danny, and all three nodded. They turned to Jazz, who shrugged. It sounded good to her, besides she was here to… What _was_ she doing with them? Watch a movie, eat some pizza, and make a deal of some sorts that could end the world?

She really needed to ask them what this mess was all about. It was all too confusing. Parapsychology, what a joke! She really shouldn't get any further in this than she already was.

But maybe… maybe they would need her held. They _would_ need someone to act as an outside force, a mediator of sorts. She was good at that, she did a lot of peer mediation at school.

She was taken out of her reverie by her brother's voice.

"So, it's settled then." he said. "Friday at eight. We meet on the football field, where everything's wide open."

"Remember to bring the sword." the voice on the other end said.

"Just bring the _ampulla_ and everything will be good."

"Until then." The person hung up, leaving the room in silence for a moment or two.

"Hey, guys," Sam said.

"Hm…?"

"What's Friday's date?"

"It's the 31st." Tucker said. "Why?"

"Halloween." Jazz said.

"Which means everyone will be in costume." Danny said, frowning.

"Not only that, but there's also a football game."

* * *

Valerie hung up the payphone and heaved a sigh of relief. She had to wait for a while. He dad called the house every hour and had one of the neighbors check in on her thirty minutes after each call.

The only reason she had been able to slip out was because she claimed that they were out of milk as she simply couldn't sleep without a warm glass of the substance. She knew the neighbor had a severe caesin allergy, so the little old lady wouldn't have any in her fridge to give the teen.

Instead, she leant Valerie some money to run down to the little convenience store a few blocks down. On the way back, she hit up one of the payphones. The calls would only take a few minutes after all, so what was the harm?

Sighing, she picked up the plastic phone again and dialed the number for the Guys in White. It rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" the voice said.

"I made a date. We set up a place and time."

"Good. Are you sure they didn't recognize you?"

"Pretty positive."

"Alright. Place, date and time of meeting?"

"Casper High School this Friday at eight."

"Couldn't have picked a better time or date myself. We'll send back up. Just be ready for an ambush on either side."

"Alright."

The hung up first. Valerie stood there a moment, listening to the dial tone, before hanging the phone up one final time.

She walked back home, the milk jug in hand.

* * *

**Yay, a very Jazzy chapter!**

**I make a headnod to something that only two or three people really know about for the second fic in the trilogy. They know who they are (my fellow campers, who heard that discussion).**

**But yeah, this chapter was mostly filler for me. XP I used "And yet…" so many times. Thank god I did a quick read through and edited most of that out.**

**Now I just need to figure out how to do a mystery and I'll be all set. Er, anyone have any ideas?**

**XD**


	23. It's All Okay

**Welcome all to the last and longest chapter of **_**DNC**_**. It's still really hard for me to believe that I finished this. All of you have been so kind and lovely this entire time, and I don't know how to properly thank you but say promises of a sequel to this and a collection of one-shots once I'm done with Camp NaNoWriMo this July. And to say how much I love you all, because I do.**

**Speaking of… ;D It starts today~. I'm in a cabin not with members of the Phandom but with other mystery/thriller/suspense writers. I'm really hoping for some good advice from them. But I'm still in contact with others participating in PhanoWriMo. We chat every night.**

**Which reminds me, I still want to work on that idea DB-KT gave me a while ago… Also, I wonder if she's worked on those plot bunnies I gave her… We are terrible to one another. XD**

**Anyway, my project for Camp this time 'round is centered in a circus. Very fun, especially with the awesome music I have and the idea I'm working with. I think people will like it.**

**So… yeah. Last chapter. It feels weird knowing I won't be updating this. Hmm… On Mondays how about I do a special blog on my tumblr? Yeah, that should be good.**

**Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. **_**AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to **_**Danny Phantom**_** or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's **_**Mediator**_** series and Kelly Armstrong's **_**Darkest Powers**_** trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.**

* * *

**Do Not Cross**

**Chapter 23**

"_**And it's all okay,  
'Cause love will find a way to be what love is…"  
Julia Stone, "It's All Okay"**_

The time passed much too quickly. Halloween arrived and everyone in Amity Park got into the spirit. It was the one time of the year where the town could cash in on all the ghosts.

It was also the only time of year that the students of all the schools could dress in costumes, as long as they were school appropriate. There was always going to be that one group of girls who pushed the boundaries and got away with it — not to mention ogled by the entire male population.

Tucker wasn't quite sure he wanted to dress up this year. It would just be too odd for him to go through with it, but then it would seem weird to others not to.

His mother would wonder if he was sick or something. His father would demand that he stay in bed. His teachers and peers would question his sanity. It was safe to say that Amity's favorite holiday was Halloween, and to break tradition was nothing short of criminal.

Digging through his closet, Tucker found his old costumes. None of them fit him anymore. When had he grown out of his Spiderman costume? Or his Gandalf?

Sighing, he decided to make his own this year. But what could he do on short notice? A quick browse online and he found one that suited his cause just fine.

He grabbed a white T-shirt and a permanent marker, quickly writing down a sentence before slipping it over his thermal undershirt.

Smirking, he headed downstairs. Both of his parents had already left, his mother out buying extra candy and his father was at work. He had the house to himself.

He downed some bacon and eggs, as well as some toast, and bolted out the door. Jazz would be by soon with Danny and the RV. Then, they would go retrieve Sam. Like always…

The Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle rolled up and the back passenger door opened for him. Through the windows he could vaguely make out that they, too, were wearing costumes.

"_That_'s your costume?" Jazz said from up front, eyeing the shirt. "_Seriously_?"

"'Nudist on strike.'" Danny said, reading what it said. "Funny."

Tucker eyed their costumes. Danny was dressed as the Grim Reaper and Jazz was dressed as… some historical figure. He couldn't depict who.

"Remind me to put on the headpiece when we get to school." she said.

"And… who are you supposed to be?" Tucker said.

"Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe during the Middle Ages."

"Never heard of her."

"She was a witch." Danny said. They looked at him. "What? I read it in one of Sam's books."

"Since when do you read books?" Tucker said, raising a brow.

"Ha ha. You're hilarious." Danny rolled his eyes.

"What can I say? I am the comic relief."

"…_What_?"

"Well, Danny's the hero, Sam's the tough guy, Jazz is the brains, and I'm the funny guy."

"There's usually a fifth person to the group." Jazz said, pulling up in front of Sam's. "Four is an odd number for any sort of group outside of school. Three, five, seven, and their multiples are more common, especially when magic is involved. It's common knowledge for psychologists who are trying to understand fairytales and how they apply to everyday life.

"So, who's the fifth guy?"

Tucker sat long and hard, thinking about it. He didn't even acknowledge Sam when she entered. Who was the fifth member for the group?

He went over a list of all of the possibilities and found that there was only one.

"Valerie." he said, startling them out of the conversation they had been having.

"What?" Sam said, frowning.

"The fifth member of the team is Valerie. But adding her changes the whole schematic. Danny's still the hero —"

"Why's Danny the hero?"

"Because the hero is supposed to undergo physical, emotional, and spiritual changes in order for him to become the character. Danny's done that, what with the, uh, you know what."

"Did I miss something?" Jazz said. "Are you guys hiding something from me?"

"We'll talk about it after everything is settled tonight." Danny said, attempting to assure his sister.

"Right, so… Danny's still the hero, I'm still the funny guy, Sam is the brains, Valerie is the tough guy, and Jazz is the chick."

"What does the chick do?" Sam said, cocking a brow.

"Usually, the heart of the team. Keeps everyone together."

"Sounds like Jazzy-pants."

"Don't call me Jazzy-pants!" Jazz said. "And yes, yes it does."

She pulled the vehicle into a parking space near the front. She smiled and happily got out. She rarely ever got one and it was a blessing with the shoes she was wearing and the skirt.

"Headpiece." Danny said, reminding her.

"Right, thanks." she said, hopping in back and closing the door after Tucker and Sam before sliding on the contraption.

Tucker waited with his friends outside. He took the opportunity to really observe his friend's costumes.

As he had thought earlier, Danny was dressed as the Grim Reaper. It didn't look odd on him at all, which was slightly unnerving but even less so than the red contacts he wore. Looking into his friend's eyes gave him the creeps.

Sam was dressed in an elaborate white Lolita fashion dress, a long sword strapped to her back. It was terribly frightening, since most of them knew what the color white meant in their world.

"And what are you dressed as?" he said to her.

"The white knight from _Through the Looking-glass_." she said. She, too, was wearing contacts. Unlike Danny's, they were blue. "In the traditional sense, the character was old and can't ride his horse properly but he's the best in the books. Pity not many people have even heard of the second _Wonderland_ book."

"There was a second _Wonderland_ book?" Danny said.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" someone said, easing themselves into their conversation.

Tucker winced at the familiar voice. Dash. He always seemed to come at the worst possible time. He and the others turned towards the upperclassman.

"Hello, Baxter." Danny said, frowning at the costume choice.

"Don't you look scary." Dash said, observing them. "Huh, you look weird without those creepy eyes of your's, Manson."

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you." she said through clenched teeth. She tugged on the waist of the costume, straightening it.

The RV's back passenger door opened and Jazz stumbled out. She fixed her dress, making sure everything was laying right.

"Are we ready to —" she said, stopping when she saw the latest addition. "Oh, hi, Dash."

"Jazz." the blond said stiffly, adjusting the clingy fabric of his attire.

"And you are…?"

"That ghost that causes all the trouble in town, Invis-o-Bill."

Sam choked back a laugh and Tucker nudged Danny. Jazz simply raised a brow, not entertained by the name or the thought, no doubt.

"Right, well, we were just about to head inside." she said, grabbing her backpack.

Dash swiped it from her grasp, gesturing for her to continue forwards as he carried her things.

For a moment, Tucker thought she would grab them back, bust she allowed the jock to do as he wished. He and the others stood stunned for a moment before hurrying to catch up.

"That sword," Danny said quietly to Sam, "it's the one Clockwork was holding onto for Katherine, right?"

"Yeah." she said. "I managed to get it away from her. Glad I paid attention to Lancer's lessons on how to make sleeping potions"

"…Lancer taught us that?" Tucker said incredulously.

"You two really pay attention, don't you?"

"What can we say." Danny said. "We've had a lot of practice."

"I was thinking about leaving it in the RV but we're being followed."

"We are?"

"Yup." She nodded to one of the security guards when they entered the school. "He doesn't work here on a normal basis."

"Maybe they upped the staff because of all the costumes and possible bomb threats." Tucker said, offering his insight. "High schools start getting a lot around now. Especially in small towns like Amity Park."

"Not unlikely but still, best to be safe than sorry." She tugged the straps tighter. He noticed that her eyes flickered to the students and noticed how they were all congregating in front of the auditorium doors.

"An assembly. Every school holds one at the beginning of the school day on Halloween. It's tradition."

"We're free to wander the school hallways and go trick-or-treating at the classrooms, attend a dance in the gym, play some of the games the teachers set up, or enter the costume contest. It's really an all-day, all-school party."

"So… basically, there was no point in _actually_ coming to school today since we won't be learning anything." Sam said.

"Pretty much."

"Well, we should make the most of no classes today." Tucker said, stretching. "It's going to be a long day, after all."

* * *

"Well, this day was completely worthless and a waste of what we should be doing." Sam said, stretching out in her designated auditorium seat. She had kicked a few freshman out of the seats so they could sit next to one another.

The bell droned, signaling what would have been the end of a normal school day. Today, however, it was the signal for everyone to return to the auditorium for the finalizations of the costume contest. Pretty much everyone hung back the extra half hour just to witness the best costumes and scoff at the worst.

It was rather uneventful and nothing extraordinary happened. People cheered and booed at the winners, like they always did, and they got ready for the pep rally. There was the game that night.

Every available hand was put to use in decorating the football field. Danny found himself of fence duty. Tucker was with him, lazing about and not helping. Sam was off somewhere hanging up posters and Jazz… was being stalked by Dash. As much as it annoyed him to know that, he had to admit the beefed-up blond would look after his sister should anything happen.

Sighing, he taped the last bit of plastic to the fence and stood up straight. He could see a few of the cheerleaders further down, still hanging cardboard cutouts of ghosts and goblins and whatnot.

"…and then I said to the guy," Tucker said, "'Look, buddie, I ain't some dude you can just boss around, ya dig?' Hey, Danny, are you even listening to me? Fried pickle. Potato chip. Sam's flashing us."

"Huh?" Danny said, looking around incredulously. "What?"

"Thought as much. What's on your mind?"

"Tonight."

"Still bugging you? If you want, you and me can switch places. You could protect the city from the sky, just in case. Sam and I can cover the ground."

"No, it's not that. Something just doesn't feel… _right_, you know? It's like, something's completely off. Like we're missing an important key to the puzzle or there's a huge, flashing red sign in front of us and we can't see it."

"Maybe we did miss something." Tucker said, shrugging. "But we'll figure it out tonight when everything's all good, and we got the sword and the _ampulla_. Who knows, maybe you're just really excited."

"It's just…" Danny said, trying to come up with the words. "I wish there was a way I could keep all of you guys out of this. I mean, I know Sam can handle herself no problem. You have the training but you don't utilize it to the best of your potential. And Jazz… Jazz is going in there completely blind and with her hands tied behind her back."

He slumped down on the blacktop surrounding the fence. Tucker sat down next to him, gazing off at the sky.

"I meant what I said earlier, you being the hero and all." his friend said, not looking at him. "You think about things like that. It's who you are. It's almost like you're that teenage protagonist in all those comic books we used to read or in those Saturday morning cartoons. Yeah, you're like them and that's… that's a good thing."

"I don't feel like one."

"Being a hero isn't something that you feel. It's who you are on the inside. Like, say that a ghost —"

"Don't say it! Don't say it! You're going to jinx us!"

"—would attack right now."

"Ah, you jinxed us."

"You would zip off to save the day because that's who you are, not because you have to. I think that's cool."

"What's cool?"

They turned to see Sam approach them. She stayed standing, looking down while she munched on popcorn.

"Where'd you get that?" Danny said, feeling his mouth water. He really hadn't eaten anything since he woke up.

"The mom's were giving it away to some of us." she said, she held it out to them. "Take it. I can't eat anymore or this costume won't fit."

Danny snagged it before Tucker could even twitch his finger. He hogged it for a moment or two before allowing his friend to take what he wanted.

"Is there anything else that we can do to pass the time?" she said.

"Nope. Not at the moment." Tucker said. "Well, Danny might have to help set up a few tents for some people but other than that, there's nothing."

"So… what will we do until eight?"

"I don't know about you guys," Danny said, "but I'm going to go take a nap in the RV."

"I am the Box Ghost! Beware!"

"After I take care of a nuisance."

**.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Jazz woke him up a couple hours later, gently shaking his shoulder.

"The sophomore game is over." she said. "We have about an hour before eight and half an hour before the varsity game starts."

He hadn't slept as well as he had hoped. He moved around a lot and he wasn't the only one. Sam and Tucker tried to sleep as well, Tucker getting the most out of the three.

Jazz had been out and about, working and talking with her friends and other students who were willing to listen. He could only guess at what they talked about during that time.

He nodded and ruffled his hair with his hand. Looking around, he spotted his two friends. Sam was tucked in a corner at one end, furthest from the door, clutching the sword. Tucker was up front, reclined in the passenger seat.

"Wake 'em up. We need to start getting ready." she said, digging around in a large duffle bag that was packed with Fenton inventions.

Tucker woke comically, shooting up and banging his head on the ceiling. Sam… not so comically. She smacked Danny and knocked him into the far wall.

"Sorry." she said, her voice clouded by the gunk that gathered in the back of her throat from her restless sleep.

She flicked on the lights, making them all wince. She mumbled another apology. She grabbed her contact case and moved to the front to use the mirror.

Danny decided to do the same, after wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Want me to make you look creepier?" Sam said. "I have a crap load of costume makeup in my schoolbag. I mean, you could think of it as war paint or something. You're sure to scare the messenger if you look like death."

"Do you think you can make me more handsome than I already am?" Tucker said, beaming.

She looked him over, frowning.

"No." She turned to look back at Danny. "Come on, you know you want scary make up to go with those red eyes."

"Fine." Danny said. Smiling slightly. He liked the idea of war paint. There was something novelty about it.

He hoped there would be no fighting but for what they had planned, it was inevitable. Novelty war paint might give him the courage he really needed at the moment.

Besides, it looked like Sam would have a nervous breakdown if he didn't keep her occupied with something other than the events that would happen.

"Don't put your contacts in yet." she said, heading towards her bag. She dug in it and pulled out a smaller, but fairly large, bag containing the costume makeup.

He waited patiently as she did her work. When she was done he had to admit, he looked like death. It was… chilling.

Smiling just made it worse, he found. He looked more maniacal. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing and with it being Halloween, this was the only time he could get away with it.

"Me next!" Tucker said, raising his hand.

Danny put in his contacts as Sam worked on their friend.

"Come on guys," Jazz said. "The marching band is already getting into position to do the National Anthem and school fight song."

Sam wrapped up what she was doing. He had to admit, Tucker looked pretty cool, even with the goofy shirt he vehemently declared was his costume.

Danny was the first to exit the RV. He pulled the hood of his costume up, tugging at the brim.

"We all remember what we're supposed to do?" he said, not looking back at the others as they joined him.

A chorus of agreements greeted him.

Tucker and Jazz headed off towards the stadium gates. They split up once they entered and took opposites sides of the bleachers. They would be keeping an eye out for anyone they thought was a Reaper, all the while socializing with some of their friends and the people around them.

Danny and Sam stood side by side, waiting to see the other two mount the seating areas and signal that they were in position.

"That costume still creeps me out." she said, pulling at the tailored waist of her ensemble.

"Yeah, well, you still freak me out." he said. "Isn't white a Reaper's color?"

She scoffed, shoving him playfully. He winced, rubbing the spot. It didn't really hurt — much to his surprise — but he went along with it lest he should hurt her pride.

"There's the signal." she said, nodding towards the stadium. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

They walked towards the gates, flashing their student IDs and heading towards their school's bleacher. Danny looped his arm through hers in order to keep them together, pushing his way through the rowdy crowd.

They found a spot between the marching band's section, clearly separated by a yellow rope at hip level, and the regular students.

"Wish I'd thought to bring a blanket to sit on." Sam said. "The bleachers are cold."

"Well, they are made of metal." Danny said, scooting closer to share some of his natural body heat. It was a rather cool evening. "I just realized, you kind of look like one of those characters in an anime or video game."

"Well, I do enjoy video games and anime is my anti-drug."

He laughed, nudging her. Good, keep the nerves calm and the battle will be easy.

Load blasts from the field grabbed their attention. Everyone in the stands shot up as the band marched out, color guard trailing with their flags at the ready. The two stood up alongside everyone else.

The National Anthem rang through the stadium, followed by the school fight song — the cheerleaders and students singing along with pep and vigor. They clapped the steady rhythm with everyone else and applauded when it was over, taking their seats.

All around them, people were dressed in miscellaneous costumes waiting for the game to start. They didn't have long to wait. The announcer in the box above rambled on about the game, the team's stats, and "how happy Amity is to have their guests here on such a wonderful holiday."

Sam leaned on Danny's shoulder to see around the guy sitting in front of her.

"How will we recognize the messenger?" she said.

"Don't know." he said. "I'm sure we'll recognize them when we see them."

She nodded, straightening. She went back to scanning the crowd, foot bouncing nervously. She excused herself to relieve her bladder.

One of the band moms let her pass underneath the rope in order to go around the back of the bleachers to get to the bathroom.

He watched her, frowning. They had all agreed to never go anywhere, during the game, alone. Sighing, he got up and followed her.

The band moms eyed him curiously but said nothing when he jogged to catch up to Sam. Who knew what was going through their brains, and personally he could care less.

He grabbed her arm, just above her elbow. She twisted his hand around, and got him in a hold. She released him when she recognized the costume and the face behind the makeup.

"Sorry." she said. "But that was rather stupid of you, you know."

"Yeah." he said, rubbing his arm. "You'd think I know better from all that training."

"So why'd you come after me?"

"We said none of us would ever be alone at this game. Jazz is with her friends and Tucker is with some of the nerds. We're supposed to stick together. Besides, what if the Reapers show up and I'm not there to back you up?"

"I thought you were my knight in shinning armor?" she said, tilting her head.

"Yeah well, you're the knight tonight. I'm… the damsel?"

She laughed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"I still have to go to the bathroom." she said. "And I'm hungry. You want anything?"

"Yeah."

"Good, get me some nachos. Cheese and jalapeños only. Also, a root beer."

"Alright." he said as she slapped some money in his hand.

"Get what you want, I'll meet you in the line."

He watched as she made it to the bathroom doors safely and took the last spot in the line for food and drink from the stadium's vendors.

"Hey, Danny." someone said.

He turned and saw Valerie. Smiling, he waved her over. He ignored the cries of the two or three people behind him as he allowed her to join him in line.

"Thanks." she said. "Whoa, cool makeup. What are you?"

"The Grim Reaper." he said. "Sam did the makeup before we came back in."

"She really knows what she's doing. Maybe she'll become one of those makeup stylists like on that Syfy show. That'd be cool, right? Knowing someone who does makeup for movies and TV shows."

He nodded.

"Where is Sam, by the way? I thought I saw the two of you head over in this direction."

"Restroom. I decided to hold a place in line for food."

"Hmm. And what about the sword?"

"What?" he said, scrunching his brow. What sword? What was she talking… Oh.

"Where is the sword, Danny?"

* * *

Sam hummed the school fight song as she washed her hands. She was really looking forward to the nachos. She hadn't had any in quite some time.

Surprisingly, the women's restrooms were empty. It was highly unusual, especially at a high school football game.

That realization sent her stomach to her throat. Something about that was very, very, _very_ wrong. She quickly dried her hands with paper.

"Give me my sword."

Sam jumped a little, drawing the weapon and pointing the sharp blade at the intruder. Katherine stood there, looking unamused. The woman held her open palm out.

"My sword, Samantha." she said. "I want it back."

"We need it." Sam said, clenching her hands on the grip. She wasn't going to give it up without a fight.

"_Please_, you don't know what it's capable of."

"Look, we have a plan. It's a good plan. We need the sword. I'm not going to give it to you. It's the only chance we have to get the _ampulla_."

"You made a deal with the _Reapers_?" Katherine said, hissing.

"Not the Reapers, their little messenger. They'll be here tonight. They think that we'll trade the sword for the _ampulla _—"

"It's going to fail. That plan will never work."

"And why not?" Sam said, lifting her chin up stubbornly.

"The Reapers are already here and they out number you."

Sam frowned and started for the door to warn Danny. Katherine grabbed her wrist as she shot past, slamming her into a wall.

Sam swung her free arm, the one with the sword, at the woman. The cut was blocked by the quick moves of Katherine.

Katherine was able to knock Sam's sword hand into the wall on her opposite side, causing the girl to release her weapon.

The woman quickly picked it up and dashed out of the restrooms.

Stunned, Sam stood there for a moment before taking off after her. She didn't spot the woman outside but she did see Danny and Valerie fighting over something. The _ampulla_.

Why did she have it?

The security guards were about to step in when blasts of red lasers from the air stopped them in their tracks.

Down from the sky ten men, dressed in all white, landed on their feet. They were armed to the teeth with weapons that shamed the Fentons' inventions. And they weren't the only ones.

Just outside of the fenced in football stadium, men and women wearing similar white outfits dropped and set up a barrier between the attendees of the game and the outside world.

"This high school's football game has hereby been canceled." said one of the men. The wristwatch-like device he spoke into overpowered the speakers in the stadium. "All attendees are to stay in their seats and wait until further notice. Those outside of the bleachers and of the field are advised to sit down."

Sam ducked back into the bathroom, going over ever curse word she knew.

One of the men pointed over to the bathroom and she gasped. Quickly she looked about for a place to hide. Bathroom stall would be too easy. Behind the door…

She held her breath and waited. One of the men stepped in and poked about. When he realized she wasn't hiding in one of the stalls or by the sinks. He started back out.

She prayed to what ever deity was above that he wouldn't see her. She almost blended in with the wall…

"Got you." he said, pulling her out from her hiding spot. He tossed her over his shoulder and carried her outside.

She screeched, clawed, kicked, cursed, bit, whatever she could to attempt to break free. None of it worked.

"I would stop struggling, Necromancer." he said. "You aren't going to get out of a Reaper's grasp too easily.

* * *

Jazz looked around, spotting a struggling Sam being carried out of the ladies' room and a bound Danny being threatened. Tucker… she couldn't see him anymore. Where had he gone?

Her phone beeped, signaling a new message. She smiled when she saw who it was from. Danny's friend was safe somewhere.

"_Stay where you are._" it said. "_Those guys around us aren't good guys. They'll kill Sam for being what she is and they'll release whatever's in the _ampulla_._"

"_Where are you?_" she sent, worried now.

She didn't receive a text for several moments, which worried her. What if he had been caught? Or worse?

"_I'm with Katherine. She has the sword. We're planning an ambush. Don't do anything. We'll take care of everything._"

She frowned. She didn't _like_ waiting around for something to happen.

"I'm not like Ophelia." she said.

"What did you say?" Eric said, looking at her curiously.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. Just… duck when I say so, yeah?"

He and her other friends gave her curious looks, but they didn't question her.

* * *

Tucker let out a trembling breath as he started up the RV. He had never been happier that the Fentons had created the hunk of metal. He was also proud that Jazz hadn't noticed that he had snatched the keys from her.

Physically, he didn't have the fighting capabilities that Sam and Danny had, he had accepted that some time ago. Mentally, however, he surpassed them when it came to creating plans.

He had been quite sure that Danny's plan would fail, which it obviously did, so he contacted the one person he knew who could handle this mess: Katherine. He had told her everything that was going to happen and promised that everything would turn out in her favor.

He pushed down the guilt that kept coming back. He was betraying his friends, this he was well aware of but he was doing it to protect them. Surely that would help somewhere down the line?

Sam was bound to hold a grudge for years to come and Danny would undoubtedly feel hurt, but he knew the latter the best and he knew that somewhere down the road he would be forgiven. He tried not to think about how Jazz would feel about all of this. That was someplace he didn't want to be.

"Ready?" Katherine said, jolting him from his thoughts.

"Ready." he said, revving the engine.

They were bound to get someone's attention so, he had to getting going while the getting was good.

He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, the RV lunged forwards and crashed through the barrier of people and the fence.

Katherine worked the artillery, shooting well aimed blows at anyone who stood in their way.

He drove the RV onto the field, making the football players scatter like flies. He swung the vehicle back around to where Danny was being held.

He stomped his foot on the breaks, making Katherine loose her footing. She quickly regained it and went about freeing his friend.

"What the _hell_, Tuck?" Danny said, sitting down next to him. "You're a maniac. And what's she doing here?"

"We need her help." Tucker said.

"They have Sam, you know, because _she_ took the sword."

"Yeah, don't worry. Sam will be fine. She's Sam, after all. Nothing can stop her if she puts her mind to it. We need to focus on finding the messenger."

"Val."

"Huh?"

"Val's the messenger."

Tucker blinked at him, confused.

"Hey!" Katherine said. "We can't stop moving or they'll get us, so get to it, nudist."

"Right." he said, he shifted gears and slammed on the gas again. He really wasn't sure where he was going but they couldn't stay still for very long.

"She's right there!" Danny said, pointing in on direction.

"Who?"

"Valerie."

Tucker whirled the wheel and started for Valerie. He scanned the crowd, trying to find her. She was easy to spot, dressed in a bright red suit of some sort. And the candy coated topping, she was flying on a board.

"Can this thing fly?" he said.

"Uh…"

"Great. How will we catch her?"

"Um, hello? Soothsayer sitting right next to you." Danny said, flailing his arms as he transformed.

Before he could make a move to leave, however, Valerie was knocked onto the field by a person dressed in white. Had one of the Reapers betrayed her?

No.

Somehow, Sam had managed to get away.

* * *

Sam was grateful that the guy who grabbed her was a complete idiot and a terrible fighter. She had managed to twist herself out of his grasp and knock him unconscious. Several others moved to grab her but she managed to slip past them.

She ducked under the bleachers climbing up to the top and slipping over the back. She landed on her feet next to Jazz.

"Well, hi there." the redhead said. "What's the plan?"

"Valerie has the _ampulla_ and Katherine has the sword." she said.

"Is this, like, a movie or something?" one of Jazz's friends said. He looked very confused. She pitied his innocence.

"Remember those ghost that kept popping up?" Jazz said. "This has a lot to do with them. Right now, Sam and I need to worry about getting what we need to keep the ghosts in their world and for you guys to keep everyone in the bleachers until it's safe. Think you can do that?"

"Yes, ma'am." the friend said.

"Here comes Valerie now." Sam said, watching as the figure zip closer to her.

Without thinking, she climbed up on the safety rails along the sides and pushed off, launching herself towards the lady in red.

She knocked into Valerie, thankfully, and the two of them tumbled onto the Astroturf of the football field. With a groan, they both tried to recover from being winded.

Sam was the quickest to recover. She snatched up the _ampulla_ and held it close. She gazed down at the stunned Valerie.

"You knew." she said, frowning. "You knew this whole time, didn't you? You know what I am and yet you'd till betray a _friend_ to the _Reapers_?"

"What are Reapers?" Valerie said, puffing for a decent breath.

"You don't know what you are, do you?"

"I know that I'm human and that you're not."

Sam frowned but didn't say anything. If Valerie didn't know, and the Reapers didn't know, she would be safe for the time being. They would kill a Necromancer without any hesitation, and a witch? They were the whole reason the witch and werewolf hunts in Europe happened in the first place.

Sam started for the RV, which stopped close by for her to join them. She stopped when Danny and Katherine tumbled out, the sword falling at her feet.

He was able to kick away from the woman and snatched up the sword. The blade cut through the fabric of Sam's costume easily and it clicked noisily against the old clay of the _ampulla_.

The little pot in her hands was broken but that was not what Danny was worried about.

* * *

After Sam jumped off the bleachers, Jazz climbed over the side and down to the ground. All of the people in white were distracted by the events on the field, she managed to sneak past them and get to the school.

She had a few weapons stored in her locker. If she could get them in time and make it back out to help in the fight, she might be able to set a new track record.

She was stopped by a loud cacophony behind her. She stopped just beyond one of the corners of the building and looked back.

Above the field, a gray and blue cloud rose towards the sky and spread out when it reached what it could. The trail leading up began to twist and turn. She feared that a tornado would wreak havoc on Amity Park.

The twisting stopped and floating in the air was a man with flaming hair. She could not see his face but she recognized him immediately. He was the ghost from her nightmare.

The heavy feeling sunk down into her gut and she raced back to the stadium. She was able to get back over the fence and onto the field no problem, but she stumbled when she reached the track that circled round.

She fell down to her knees and gaped upwards.

The ghost said nothing, he merely looked about stopping on the bleachers full of people. He lifted his hand and a blast of pink energy crackled towards where Eric and her friends sat.

An unearthly cry broke the silence before everyone screamed and ran about, trying to seek shelter from the monster above. Somewhere in the back of her mind did it register that she had been he first to cry out.

Something cracked against the back of her skull, sending her face first towards the Astroturf. Her world slowly started to fade to black.

She registered someone saying to grab her and the flash of a red boot before she was lost to the world.

* * *

Tucker looked around as everyone started running about, not thinking clearly. They were panicking, as was he but they were able to express it much easier.

He stared down at the dashboard for a moment, trying to think of what to do next.

Danny had nicked Sam with the blade, as the growing red stain was more than evidence of that. Katherine was gone, she magically disappeared. Valerie was missing too and Jazz… he hadn't seen her since they split up.

He watched as Danny scooped up their friend, cradling her as she tried to take in what just happened.

"Drive." Danny said, commanding him. "Just drive. We need to get Sam out of here before anything else happens."

Tucker started up the RV, revved the engine, and took off in a direction.

"What just happened?" he said.

"We accidentally released the Dark One." Sam said, clutching her stomach. To Danny, she said, "I have a first aid kit in my bag. It's a shallow cut, so we only need to bandage it."

He carefully set her down in the passenger seat and went to retrieve the aforementioned kit.

"We screwed up, didn't we?" she said.

"Yeah." Tucker said. "We did."

"But it'll all be okay in the end, won't it? That's how movies and TV shows and books always end, right? With a happy ending?"

Tucker was silent for a moment, keeping his eyes on the road.

Danny returned, carrying gauze and an ace bandage. He quickly did what he could for his injured friend and slumped on the ground.

"Yeah," Tucker said, breaking the silence. "It'll all be okay. Just you wait and see."

_**FIN.**_

* * *

**And I'll pick up from here in the sequel. Gosh, I really do love cliffhangers. I'm terrible, I know. I just need to write a story where I **_**don't**_** end it with something horrible or life changing or revealing or… yeah.**

**My brain's fried. I stayed up late going over the fight scene and working on the ending. They weren't settling right. And all the jumps… _ **

**Yeah, I think I need to work on my fight scenes some more. The sequel will give me time to do that, thankfully. Can't wait to see how people react to that first chapter. Geeze, it's just… yeah. I won't be working on it until November. So, everyone will have to wait until then. And once it's finished, I release an annotated version of **_**DNC**_**.**

**Now, to work on this circus…**


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